Family Ties
by Tashana Ambrosia
Summary: Family is something different for everyone...what if Miroku wasn't alone in this world? Our favorite monk is loved on many levels...maybe even by a certain demon exterminator? MirokuSango InuyashaKagome... Reloaded and edited as I work on the sequel.
1. pt1

**Authoress' notes: **Well this is just a little piece on Inuyasha. Focuses mostly on Miroku and his past, but I'm working a little bit of a Sango/Miroku pairing. Hopefully everyone will like this. Just so you know I'm watching the dub on CN and I've only made it far as last one they've shown, so if anything is really off forgive me, this is just my interpretation. Thanks! Have a great day! Smiles

**EDIT: **I swear this is the last time I am reposting this... I think I finally have the formatting right, so it looks like it is supposed to. SIGH Oh well, I still hope you all enjoy it. Smiles

**Legal stuff: **I don't own Inuyasha; if I did I wouldn't be so poor now would I? Please don't sue me. There's nothing for you to get...really.

* * *

**Family Ties: Part 1**

* * *

" _Please don't take him!" Came the shrill angry voice of a child. There were angry eyes all about him, but he couldn't fight back; couldn't move._

"_What use would I have for this brat?" That voice; that deep-throated, vicious voice, which belonged to the causer of so much pain and suffering that it, was unimaginable. Then there were two malevolent eyes glaring down at him: Naraku's eyes._

* * *

Miroku snapped awake with start and drew in a sharp breath. His eyes adjusted to the dying firelight, as he looked around the camp to see if anyone had been awakened by his quiet outburst.

Sango was leaning on her arm across the fire from him, her eyes shone bright from the firelight and alert from being trained to be a light sleeper. "Are you alright?" She whispered mindful of the other light sleeper, whose ears twitched even at the minuscule sound so far from his perch in tree above them.

" Fine." He nodded solemnly. "Just a dream."

"Not a pleasant one I take it, Houshi-sama." Sango turned her gaze downward to Kirara, who was kneading Sango's legs, with her sharp claws. "Ouch." Sango complained and flicked the demon cat's ear.

Kirara shook her head in annoyance and sulked over to lay down with Kagome and Shippou.

" Don't like being a pillow?" Miroku teased.

"Not when she feels the need to soften me, with those claws of hers." Sango yawned.

Miroku smirked, "I certainly don't have any claws..."

"Stay on your own side of the fire, Houshi-sama." Sango snipped and reclined back, but continued to look at him through the fire.

"What is it, Sango?"

"I was wondering about your dream. You didn't answer me." She yawned again and blinked her eyes.

"It wasn't a bad dream, just one I don't understand."

"I never understand mine." Sango sighed and yawned for the third time.

"Go to sleep, Sango. We can continue this conversation in the morning."

" Okay." Sango muttered sleepily, "but, Houshi..."

" Yes?" Miroku questioned softly.

"You are on my side of the fire. Move or I'll move you." Sango glared up at the monk, who was hovering over her.

"I only sought to wish you a proper 'goodnight' with a kiss."

"Very well." Sango yawned.

Miroku's eyebrows shot up confused, before noticing that all but Sango's right hand had disappeared beneath her blanket.

" Goodnight, Houshi-sama." She bid him from under the blanket.

" Goodnight, Sango." Miroku sighed and kissed the back of her hand.

A snicker was heard from above and Miroku looked up to Inuyasha, who was shacking his head. "You are hopeless monk."

"And you are an expert in that my friend." Miroku quipped smugly, and settled back down for the night.

* * *

The sun was on its way up the sky as the travelers made there way down a well-worn path. Inuyasha was stalking lengths in front of the rest of the group, throwing anything that got into his way out of it.

Kagome bit her lip and fell into stride with Miroku.

Miroku looked her nervous expression and asked. "Is there something wrong, Kagome?"

" Yeah, um...are you familiar with this area at all?" She whispered.

" Fairly, why?"

" Um...the new moon is tonight and we need to find someplace safe to bed down for the night." Kagome winced as Inuyasha shouted back at her.

"I can hear ya just fine! Don't sneak around making plans, Wench! I know we have to find somewhere to sleep!" He stomped forward, putting more distance between them.

"I'm sure I can find us a suitable place." Miroku smiled.

" Thanks, Miroku." She smiled, before making a face. " Eep! Miroku!" Kagome slapped Miroku across the face, due to his lazy hand's path across her rear.

Miroku rubbed his cheek and looked over at Sango.

She walked by him with a snort of disapproval. "Houshi, you probably shouldn't be upsetting Kagome if Inuyasha is in a bad mood."

"I only have to worry about it until sunset." Miroku winced and closed his eyes listening for Inuyasha to rush towards him with murderous intent, but it seemed that the half-demon either choose to ignore the comment, which was unlikely, or was out of hearing range, which was much more likely.

Sango shook her head and fell into stride with Kagome, who had already starting walking ahead. "Kagome, are you alright?"

" Yeah, I'm just worried about Inuyasha. He gets so upset about being human, but..." Kagome trailed off and glanced back at Miroku to assure herself that he wasn't eavesdropping. " But he's so much nicer to me when he's human. It's almost as if he really cares about me."

Sango furrowed her eyebrows, unsure of how to respond. It was obvious to Sango that there was a deep level of commitment between Inuyasha and Kagome, but she couldn't be sure of whether it was the type that Kagome was hoping for. "He does care for you, you know that."

" Yeah, his precious shard detector." Kagome huffed. " I don't know why I even let my heart run away with me."

Sango blinked confused for a moment, than shrugged her shoulders unsure of what to say.

" Sango,"

" Yes?"

" Thanks for listening." Kagome smiled brightly, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Hopefully there'll be a nice bath house or a hot spring in or near the village where we stay."

Sango smiled and took the conversation switch in stride. "That would be nice. Especially if it were a bath house, then we'd have walls to keep the monk at bay."

Kagome laughed and glanced back at Miroku before giggling again.

Miroku couldn't hear any of the conversation, but he made out the laughter and Kagome's glance at him. "Shippou, I think they're laughing at my expense." He told the kitsune riding on his shoulder.

" Probably." He agreed. "But I bet you started it again. That's what Kagome said last time."

Miroku sighed, "No one ever takes my side."

" Probably because you're a lecher." Shippou sniffled the air. "I smell rice fields!"

Miroku grabbed the little fox's tail, before he could take off and scare the farmers. "We should walk up to the farm together, so we don't scare anyone."

"But Inuyasha's already _way_ ahead!" Shippou informed the monk.

"Ah, that could present a problem."

* * *

"Is your lunch good?" A woman's voice asked. Her long, black hair blew in front of her face before she reached behind her and retied the ribbon that held it. She resettled the little girl in her lap and kissed the top of the child's head. "Tanaya, mommy has to go back to work soon."

Tanaya looked up with her dark brown/violet eyes clouding with sadness. " But I want to sit with you more."

"I know angel, but mommy needs to work. Now how's that lunch?"

"It's good." Tanaya sniffed.

The woman smiled at her daughter's show. "I tell you what, we'll work on your kimono tonight. How does that sound?"

" Okay." Tanaya smiled brightly and hopped off her mother's lap. "I'll go help with the water."

"Good girl." The woman kissed the child's forehead. "Stay close to the other workers and don't wander off alone." The woman looked over the cover on the child's right hand and gave her a pat on the rear. "Get moving."

"Yes Mama." Tanaya ran off to the well to fetch a bucket and cup.

The woman wiped the sweat from her brow and sighed heavily. "Now if I could just find that father of yours."

"Lady Michi! Lady Michi!" A young voice called out above the working songs in the fields.

"What is Nia?" Michi picked up her basket and rested it on her hip.

" Travelers are coming up the road and there's a young monk with them." Nia informed the now pensive looking Michi.

"I see. I'll have to get the house ready for receiving. Thank you, Nia." Michi set the basket back down and smoothed out her working clothes. "My, my Miroku are you traveling with others now?"


	2. pt2

**Family Ties: Part 2**

Inuyasha had backed off his pace and was now walking beside Kagome, carrying her bike and backpack. "The farm looks pretty wide-spread, and the front fields look good, but the back fields are mess."

" Demons?" Sango questioned.

Inuyasha shook his head, "Just haven't been tilled."

" Strange, this area looks very fertile. Why wouldn't you take full advantage of that?" Miroku wondered aloud as they entered the path between the fields.

" These people look pretty healthy." Kagome noticed. " That's a nice change."

"So monk, you sense a dark cloud over the fields?" Inuyasha mocked.

" Actually..." Miroku paused.

Sango glanced at the monk, surprised at his sudden silence, than she followed his line of sight where a woman was walking up the path. Sango could tell the woman was in full command of Miroku's attention, not that she cared.

" MIKO!!" Came a child's squeal from the side of the travelers. "MIKO! MIKO!!"

Miroku turned to source of the voice and caught the five-year-old child in his arms. He laughed and hugged her tightly, tickling her here and there making her laugh. "Tanaya, you're getting so big." He asked her settling her in his arms. "How old are you now?"

Sango felt her mouth drop open as she stared at Miroku holding the child he called Tanaya. The little girl looked like him, especially in the eyes. Was this his child? Had he left the poor mother alone to fend for herself in rice fields? That didn't seem like something Miroku would do; but than how well did she really know him? Sango clenched her teeth and ventured a glance at the other, who seemed to be reacting the same she was. Kagome's eyes were as wide as saucers, and Inuyasha eyebrow was arched in confusion as his nose twitched.

" Ouch." Tanaya held up Miroku's right hand, with her own wrapped right hand, and kissed it. "Better?"

" Soon, angel." He smiled and kissed her forehead. " How's your mother?"

" She's right here." The woman standing in front of the group was beautiful. Long black hair tied back in a ponytail and her dark brown eyes were sparkling in delight. "Hello Miroku, I've missed you, Love." She hugged him tightly.

"I've missed you too, Michi." Miroku hugged her back and his free hand completely behaved, something that didn't go unnoticed by Sango.

Michi pulled back from Miroku and kissed his temple. "You look tried. Put down Tanaya she weighs a lot more than when last you visited."

"I noticed, I can't believe how grown up this angel is." Miroku put her down on the ground and cupped his hands together before producing a candy from seemingly nowhere and handing it to the excited child.

" Children grow, you've been gone." Michi smiled sadly, then looked at the rest of the group. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Miroku shook his head as if surprised he'd forgotten all about them. " Of course this is Inuyasha."

" Puppy!" Tanaya exclaimed pointed at Inuyasha, who managed a half-smile/half-grimace.

" Tanaya, you shouldn't say things like that." Michi chided her and bowed to Inuyasha respectfully. "Forgive my child, Lord Inuyasha, she doesn't always think before she speaks."

Inuyasha arched his eyebrow, very confused at the greeting. "Why are you bowing to me and what's with the Lord crap?"

" You're a demon, are you not?" Michi now looked confused.

" Half." Inuyasha regarded Michi strangely.

"I see, in this part of the country. We treat the demon with respect. Sometimes it keeps us from being eaten, but not always."

" Feh." Inuyasha folded his arms over his chest and looked away before noticing Tanaya was looking at him. "What?"

"I wish you many greetings great lord, Inuyasha." She batted her eyelashes at him and bowed formally at her waist.

Inuyasha's face twitched and finally he smiled at Tanaya. "Thanks."

"This is Lady Kagome." Miroku continued with his introductions.

" Lady." Michi bowed followed by Tanaya's sweet smile and bow as well.

Kagome smile brightly at Tanaya, this little girl was so precious. "Thank you, but you can call Kagome. I prefer it actually."

"As you will." Michi nodded.

"This is Sango, a taijiya of demons." Miroku motioned to the hunter.

Sango bowed first and Kirara jumped down to smell the little girl. "It is an honor to meet you both. This is Kirara."

" Kitty." Tanaya giggled and petted Kirara gingerly before remembering her manners and bowing to Sango. "You are very pretty." Tanaya smiled brightly.

" Indeed she is." Miroku agreed, flashing Sango a teasing smile.

Michi smiled amused at the conversation and bowed to Sango. "Thank you. It is an honor to meet you as well, Taijiya Sango."

"And last but not least, this is Shippou." Miroku pointed to the little fox on his shoulder.

" Greetings little one." Michi bowed and Tanaya giggled as she bowed.

Shippou didn't say anything just nodded and jumped to Kagome's arms once there; he managed a very shy "Hello."

"We should travel to the house, it'll be cooler there." Michi motioned for them to follow her and took Miroku's hand in hers.

" You're hands are calloused." Miroku noted.

"So are yours." She countered.

"I've been traveling."

"And I'm a farmer's wife."

Sango stopped dead in her tracks. This woman was married, and so friendly with Miroku and then there was Tanaya. What was going on here?

" Miko! Pick me up!" Tanaya reached her arms up to Miroku, who scooped her up without a moment of hesitation.

"Now how old are you?" He asked Tanaya.

"I'm five summers."

" Five? You only three last time I was here."

"I know. You were gone so long I almost forgot you!" Tanaya pouted and batted her eyelashes at the monk.

"And I'm very sorry about that, angel." Miroku kissed her cheek and hugged her to him.

"As I told you, Love, children grow." Michi smiled.

" Michi,"

There was the name that she'd been seeking, Sango narrowed her eyes at this Michi and pondered if she should say something.

Miroku continued, "I hope it wouldn't be too much trouble to ask, but we need a place to stay for the night."

" Think nothing of it. When Nia told me she saw a monk coming, I'd hoped it was you and started readying the house. 'Though I didn't expect you to have traveling companions; you've always been alone." Michi glanced back at the girls and noted the cold stare she was getting from Sango. "And traveling with women? Have you mended your ways, Love?"

Miroku chuckled. "Not nearly as I should."

" Miko, you have to be good or you'll burn forever." Tanaya informed him seriously.

Michi shook her head. "Sorry, Love, you'll have to blame her father for that one."

" Wait." Inuyasha growled. "Whose brat is she?"

Kagome groaned and slapped her forehead at his bluntness.

Sango though shocked at Inuyasha's outburst was grateful for it. She wanted to know the lineage of the child as well.

Michi arched her eyebrow and sounded slightly offended by the inquiry. " Mine and my husband's."

"Then why does she look and smell like the monk." He prodded.

"She should and if you'll notice, I do as well. We're all related." Michi offered.

" Related how?" Sango felt herself ask.

" Miroku and I are cousins." Michi answered.

"I see. Good." Sango bit her tongue at the slip and glared at Miroku as he smiled at her.

* * *

**_Did you figure it out???_**


	3. pt3

**Family Ties: Part 3**

* * *

The house was modest, not really a hut like the homes in the surrounding area, but definitely no mansion. A young girl was tending the fire and readying a pot of tea. "Thank you, Nia. You can go back to the fields now." Michi bid her with a smile. "Sit, sit you all look weary."

"Your home is beautiful, Michi." Miroku complimented.

" Thank you, I've worked hard to make it that way." Michi handed cups to all of them, before laying a hand on Tanaya's shoulder. "Why don't you take Shippou and go play for a bit, okay?"

"Yes, mother." Tanaya winked at Miroku and offered her hand to Shippou. "Come on, I'll show where I found the baby lizards."

"Wow, that sounds really neat!" Shippou didn't take the girl's hand, but jumped from Kagome's lap and followed the girl out the door.

" She's just like you." Michi informed Miroku and poured tea for everyone.

" Adorable and irresistible." Miroku smiled.

"No flirtatious and overly dramatic." She grinned as Kagome and Sango both suppressed their laughter.

"You knew Miroku when he was little?" Kagome questioned.

"Oh yes, he was only 4 or 5 summers younger than me, but I loved taking care of him." She smiled and patted Miroku on the shoulder. "He was good boy until he turned thirteen, than the family curse came upon him and he became a monster."

" Careful Michi, you'll hurt my feelings." Miroku patted over his heart. "Did you ever finish that bathhouse you were so determined to build?"

"With my own two hands." She showed off the palms off her hands, before noticing the scars on her arms were showing. Michi quickly adjusted her sleeves and sat down next to Miroku. "How have you been? Any word about the demon?"

" Naraku? Yes, we've been tracking him for some time now, but we've yet to defeat him."

"I'm sorry for that. And the wind-tunnel?"

" Hasn't swallowed me yet." Miroku grinned.

" Don't joke about that." Michi scowled at him. "It breaks my heart."

The silence was uncomfortable, as no one knew what to say next. Kagome finally cleared her throat and inquired, "Do you and daughter suffer from the curse as well? I noticed your hands are covered."

Michi looked down at her right hand and laughed. "No," she unwrapped the beads, removed gloved and faced her bare palm to the group showing the solid, unmarred flesh. "The only family curse I suffer from is my mouth."

"So your whole family sounds like he does?" Inuyasha questioned.

Michi shook her head, "That depends on what's been coming out of his mouth. But we all tend to talk to much."

"How did you escape the curse?" Sango shifted her position to try and get more comfortable.

"It never affected my direct line. Our grandfather had two children: one daughter, the elder and one son, who fathered Miroku. The daughter, my mother, had my three older sisters and me. I had my daughter. The women of our family have never birthed a male." Michi answered quietly.

"So the women escape the curse, that's fair." Inuyasha snorted.

"The women of our family are... different. But if Miroku fails, I don't know, the curse may fall to us."

" Which is why I won't fail. I gave you my word." Miroku looked at his cousin solemnly.

"I've always believed you, save for certain exceptions."

" There you go again tarnishing my reputation."

Michi smirked mischievously, "If you like, I can tell some stories about you that wouldn't leave any of your reputation without holes."

"No, no, that's quite alright." Miroku jumped and hurriedly answered.

* * *

Kagome, Sango, Shippou and Inuyasha were setting into the guestrooms, while Miroku walked out into the fields with Michi.

" Where's Tanaya?" He asked looking for the little troublemaker.

Michi motioned back to the house, "Taking her nap. She wears out pretty easily during the harvest."

Miroku looked over the fields at the people gathering the crops. " Servants?"

"No." Michi shook her head. "They're local people I pay to help with the fields. I can pay them without problem during this part of the year. I simply give them food. Planting's always a problem, I can't give anything accept promises that I pray I can keep."

Miroku sighed and looked at his cousin's sad demeanor. "They seem to be doing well from you and your husband."

Michi snorted angrily.

"I take it your husband isn't very helpful."

"If I'm going to tell you what I think of my husband we'll have to walk further away from the grounds."

"Then by all means." Miroku motioned towards the forest.

Michi nodded and picked up a basket from the ground. "Gathering herbs will give me an excuse to walk this way." She explained.

"You need an excuse to go somewhere. I thought you were lady of the house." Miroku's expression darkened.

"I am to some extent." Michi knelt down and picked a few plants for her basket.

"I never approved of the marriage." He huffed.

Michi rolled her eyes at his behavior. "Things are as they are. You think I wasn't surprised? I was eighteen summers already; expecting to travel to Shin-Zi to be a priestess, not be married off so late in my life."

"What was your father thinking?"

"I can't talk about that."

" Why?"

"I'll damn his soul and it's not fair to do that to the dead." Michi and Miroku both laughed at her statement.

"You never cared for him that much."

Michi gave Miroku a sad smile, "He never cared for me much."

"So what about this husband of yours? Why won't you speak of him in the fields."

"What I have to say is too disrespectful. You won't tell on me, but the other villagers would damn me for speaking in such a manner." Michi leaned against a tree and sighed heavily. "Have you seen the back fields?"

"No, but Inuyasha says they're a mess."

" Those are the fields my husband _keeps_. Those are the ones nearest to the village and the ones I'm not allowed in. He thinks I don't notice that they aren't plowed or reaping any crops in harvest-time."

"This is upsetting you. I'm sorry." Miroku reached for her hand and gave it squeeze.

Michi shrugged at his concern. "You didn't do it."

Miroku turned her arm over and pushed up her sleeve.

"Hey, quit it. It's cold here." Michi tried to pull her arm away, but Miroku's grip tightened. "Miroku, they're scars; you can't fix them." Her voice was whispery-quiet and sad.

"Did he do this to you?" The question was angry and carried the promise of a threat.

"No. I made these marks." Michi pulled her arm away and tugged her sleeve down.

"May I inquire why you would do such a thing?"

"You just did." Michi smirked and pointed to the temple in the clearing in the woods. "The temple of the Hawk-demon, that occasionally terrorizes my workers. I keep him placated with a sacrifice an animal of some sort and a cup of my blood, every full moon."

"And this keeps him for killing anyone?" Miroku shook his head in disbelief.

"When he isn't in a bad mood."

"Why don't you stop him?"

Michi gave Miroku a come-on-you-know-why look.

" You're still afraid of demons." Miroku shook his head. "You're stronger than that you know."

"Good blood-line huh?" She teased and picked some more herbs. " Speaking on blood. Your traveling companions are very unique. A hanyou? I've never known them to travel with humans."

" Inuyasha travels his own way, but he is courageous and loyal friend. He seeks Naraku as well it only makes sense to travel with him. Besides the rest of the company is very inviting."

"I imagine you would think that. But leave the exterminator alone, if you value your life...unless." Michi trailed off and started fixing her basket.

" Unless?" Miroku poked Michi's side causing her to slap at him as she hummed to herself ignoring his question. "Michi. What is it? What did you see?"

Michi wriggled away from his fingers, "Shame on you. Picking on your poor defenseless cousin."

" Defenseless?" Miroku rolled his eyes before prodding again. "Did you see something?"

"I don't see anything anymore. I lost the gift when I was wed. I only see things when I'm near Tanaya. I can't see on my own, not since, well you know." Michi waved her hand dismissively and rubbed her cheeks to rid herself of the blush that had crept into them. " Bloodline's past on."

"I wasn't talking about second sight, or your visions." Miroku caught her by the shoulder and tried to look in her eyes. "What did you see with your eyes?"

Michi looked up and away from her cousin and responded in a sing-song voice."I see nothing."

"Then why won't you look at me?" He poked her side again.

" Quit! I can't look you in the eyes; you'll know if I lie." She moved away and shook her finger at him. "You need to learn to behave or least be discreet."

"A person with a condition such as mine can only be so discreet." Miroku picked up Michi's basket and started walking away.

"I never had any problem with it." Michi smirked and fell into step with Miroku.

"I think we are talking about different conditions."

"No." Michi shook her head and took the basket from Miroku. "Miroku, as bad as you were about being caught looking into the women's bath house I was as good peeking in the other and getting away with it."

Miroku stopped walking and was staring at his cousin in utter shock. " Michi!!"

" What?" Michi sounded confused. "I just looked, you touched. Why am I so bad?"

" Because you're Michi. You don't do things like that." Miroku insisted.

"I'm human, Miroku. Besides I haven't done anything like that since I was married."

" Thank goodness, infidelity isn't an easily forgiven sin." Miroku shook his head.

"Does that work both ways? I mean between men and women, or is it men can and women can't." Michi's despondent tone caused Miroku to stop her at the edge of the forest.

"It's terrible crime against the partner, whichever commits it. Michi..."

" Come, your friends must be exhausted and I imagine a bath would do those women some good."

Miroku knew bringing the subject up again would be useless, so he simply followed his cousin and allowed her to change the subject. "So Inuyasha and I get to deal with nothing?"

"No, I'll let you have the bath when the women and I are done."

"How gracious of you, thank you." Miroku responded sarcastically.

"Oh you're very welcome." Michi tried to sound as sincere as possible.

Miroku suddenly grabbed Michi's hand and stopped her. "How old?"

" Miroku..." Michi whispered sorrowfully.

"How old was he, Michi? How old was my father?" His desperation for a shred of hope was evident in his face.

"He was 27 summers."

Miroku let out a pained breath and covered his face with his hands.

Michi wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "You'll beat this thing. You will live." She whispered through her tears. "I love you so much. I know you'll defeat him and free yourself." She kissed his forehead and held his face in her hands. "I'm so sorry, this is your cross to bear. I wish it was me."

Miroku blinked trying to get the tears out of them. He half-smiled as Michi wiped the tears off his face. "No, you don't."

" You're so worried and burdened. Do they know what you carry?"

"As well as they could." Miroku drew in a deep breath, than flashed a lazy smile. "We better get back. Inuyasha tends to destroy things when he's bored."

Michi wiped her eyes and picked up her basket. "Now you tell me." She teased, threading her arm through his.

* * *

Sango glanced at Kagome, who was glaring at Inuyasha, who was sulking in the corner. She hadn't been paying attention to their earlier argument, which proved to not be wise since she'd been hit in the head by one of the objects that had been thrown. At least they hadn't destroyed anything in the house yet. She rubbed at her temples as the dull ache in the back of her head, threatened to get worse. She could hear laughing; it was Miroku's and Michi's. They were speaking in a language Sango didn't understand. She narrowed her eyes and concentrated trying to figure out what they were speaking. The answer suddenly clicked in her mind: it was the scholar's tongue. Where had Michi learned that? Only monks and priests learned it. They were in the house now and the language switched back to normal. The way they joked and teased each other made Sango heartsick for her little brother. Michi was threatening Miroku with seeing her, if he snuck around her bathhouse, while she and the girls were taking their bath. Miroku made some over-the-top shuddering sound, followed by a sharp hitting sound and a complaint about being an abused guest.

* * *

**Original Reviewer Responses:**

**xX Iron-Reaver Xx:** Thank you so much for your wonderful comments. I'm so flattered. I'm glad you think I'm holding it true to the story line, that's what I'm going for. I hope you enjoyed this part and will enjoy the rest of the story. Thank you again for your encouragement.

**Nuklear Firefly:** I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Wow...my grammar's good?!? That's different. I'm using getting yelled at for that, all I did was proof it....guess I did a good job. Thank you for the compliments, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. Oh and as for the Kilala thing, well I'm watching the dub on CN and I've got Shippou's little voice in my head saying "Kilala!" So to avoid distracting myself, I'm using the name that way. Thanks for both reviews. I so appreciate your encouragement. **– Obviously I corrected this in my revision.**

**Leila:** I'm glad you like the plot; I've always tried to make my plots make sense. Thanks for the encouragement and the reviews.

**Hikari:** I'm glad you like it. I hope I keep your interest as I continue writing/posting this. Thanks for the review.


	4. pt4

**Authoress' Notes: **I take some **major** liberties with Miroku's past here. If out there, somewhere is an official story to his past, I'm sorry for straying from it. But I this is my interpretation and I'm actually happy with how this turned out...pretty rare for me. Thank you so much for the reviews. I appreciate it so much, it's very encouraging to know that people are enjoying this.

**EDIT: **_Yes and I am aware of the inconsistency about Miroku's wind tunnel, but it was something I just had to keep, even in the edit._

* * *

**Family Ties: Part 4**

* * *

Kagome couldn't believe how nice the bathhouse was. She noticed that the actual bath was a natural hot spring that had been diverted and covered by a building. The candles that lit the bath smelled of jasmine and lavender. Michi had provided robes for them and security in the form of threatening Miroku's the ear off. Sango was leaning against one of the rocks with her eyes closed. Kagome climbed under the water and sighed in contentment.

"Is your head still bothering you?" Kagome inquired.

Sango shook her head. "Now its my back."

" What's wrong with your back?" Michi questioned closing the door behind her.

"It's just sore." Sango arched her back and tried to shift out the crick.

"I can fix it for you if you'd like." Michi offered.

Sango nodded and reached for a towel to cover her front. "I'd really appreciate it."

"No trouble." Michi ran her finger down Sango's spine, as if testing for something. "Are you ticklish?" She questioned running her finger back up. When Sango jumped and tensed up, Michi laughed. " I'll take that as yes." Michi ran her fingers gently up, down and across Sango's back always ending near the middle. "Don't worry I won't tell my cousin about you being ticklish. But should he find out. I'll give you a little information on him. He's very ticklish on his knees."

" We'll have to remember that." Kagome smirked. " Nothing like turning the tables."

"That should do it." Michi snapped the spot her fingers kept finishing at and Sango jumped. "Relax your shoulders."

Sango sighed and let her shoulders sag surprised at how loose she felt. " That's amazing."

" Miroku does it better than I do. You learn all kinds of little tricks training to be a monk or in my case being practice. He also learned acupuncture, but I'd rather go through childbirth then let him try that out on me again." Michi dropped her robe on the floor and sank up to her shoulders in the water.

Sango's eyes had flicked to the Michi and she hadn't missed the stripe-like scars that covered most of the woman's torso. "He's that bad at it?"

"Let me tell you this... He got me in the shoulder so incorrectly, that for four days I couldn't feel my right arm and it took a four-day trip to an acupuncturist to fix me. He's just always been better working with his hands." She groaned and rolled her eyes as she spoke. "Gee I wonder why." Her fingers unconsciously scratched one of the scars on her right shoulder.

" Where'd you get those scars?" Sango asked.

"Oh those," Michi shrugged her shoulders and flippantly remarked, "I wasn't quite faster than the demon trying to kill me." She laughed. "I sure picked up speed after he latched into me though."

'_So the whole family lies when they don't want talk about something painful.'_ Kagome observed Michi had the same defense mechanism that Miroku had; of course, _he'd _probably learned it from _her_. Kagome suddenly got a bright idea and devilish smile to go with it. "What was he like when he was little?"

Sango smirked, thinking that these stories might come in handy.

Michi smiled and let out a small giggle. "A flirt."

Sango snorted. "That's not surprising."

"No, nothing bad. He was sweet; so eager to please. I remember when my uncle brought him to my home the first time; I held Miroku in my arms and he batted his eyelashes at me and smiled. I was in love him at first sight, just like an older sister or mother."

"Good baby or bad?" Kagome wondered.

" Good; he was easily placated, and always happy. Though he got sick a lot, I had to carry him around a lot to keep him warm. Not that I ever minded." Michi sighed before snapping her fingers. "I have a good story for you."

" Let's hear it." Kagome grinned and winked at Sango.

"Let see, Miroku would have been about three summers or so, just a little boy. Anyway, we had this custom in our village, where the women would gather water in these very large, heavy jugs and the men in order to impress the women and make good with the fathers would carry the jugs for the women back to town. Miroku adored attention, so he watched this scenario play out and decided that he was going to participate."

Kagome was covering her mouth to suppress her laugh and Sango was chuckling under her breath.

"So the most beautiful woman of our town, Shino was down at the river filling her jug and she caught Miroku's attention. He bowed very respectfully and asked if he could help her. Now Shino, like everyone, else was enamored with Miroku. He was just adorable back then, so, she agrees. Miroku begins to drag the jar, with all his might not that it really moved all that much, but he was so determined that he made halfway back before Taro took it away from him. Miroku was crushed by his father's invasion, but he got the reward. Shino wasn't fond of my uncle and thanked him quite coldly, then knelt down and kissed Miroku's cheek and told him what a kind, sweet boy he was."

" Awe." Kagome squealed.

"What happened?" Sango grumbled.

"He turned thirteen. But as I was saying, Miroku came rushing to see me after this. He struts up to me; with his chest all puffed up and all the pride of three year old. Then he tells me that Shino said that he was a kind, sweet little boy. He was a peacock for days." Michi shook her head and smiled at the memory.

"That sounds like Miroku." Sango laughed, "Taro, that's Miroku's father?"

" Yes."

"Did you name your daughter after him?" Kagome wondered.

"No." Michi's expression darkened. "I wasn't very fond of my uncle and he knew it. I didn't name Tanaya, Miroku did. Her name means 'child of mine.' Miroku was present when Tanaya was born, just in case we needed sacred beads to seal a wind tunnel. He said that my possessive expression demanded she be named that."

"What was wrong with your uncle?" Kagome dared to ask. "Miroku remembers him well."

" There are things that Miroku doesn't remember about his father, because of how young he was when his father died. And being a lecher was the least of his faults. I hated that man; never spared him a prayer." Michi narrowed her eyebrows.

"May I ask what makes you hate him so?" Sango was curious about what crime would cause this much anger from their amiable hostess.

"He was coward. I heard it whispered a lot, but I never took it in, until I saw it with my own eyes. You see we never knew Miroku's mother...one night my uncle bid me good night and the next morning he had a son, Miroku. I have guesses, but they'll keep. What made me hate him came three or four days after Miroku was given to my uncle....

_:Begin Flashback:_

_Michi swung her legs over the side of the well as she looked down into its depths, wondering if any creeping things were in there that she could use against her older sisters. She leaned forward a little too far and almost fell in but she caught herself at the last moment. After sighing in great relief she looked around to make sure no one had seen her error, than she jumped off the well and picked up her doll._

_" Hello there." The deep voice caused Michi to jump, but when she saw it was a human in white baboon skin she relaxed instantly. Michi wasn't afraid of any humans._

_" Hi." She greeted the man unaware of who he was or the danger he represented._

_" Are you Michi?" He questioned tipping the skin back and exposing his face._

_" Uh-huh." Michi nodded and smiled politely before bowing._

_" Good. I'm looking your Uncle Taro, Michi. Do you know where he is?" The man knelt down in front of her._

_" He's at the temple. He's purifying my cousin Miroku."_

_" I see. Your Uncle sent for me, Michi. He said he had something to give me. Do you know what that might be?"_

_" No, but I can take you to Moushin's temple, that's where he is." Michi swayed in place slightly._

_" That won't be necessary. Where does he live?"_

_Michi pointed out two homes near the edge of the town. "He lives in the closer one. I live in the other, but Miroku switches sometimes, cause he's only a baby."_

_The man smiled at Michi and patted her head. "You're a very good girl, Michi. Now run along and play."_

_:Pause Flashback:_

" Naraku?" Kagome gasped.

" Yes." Michi whispered as she shuddered from the memory.

"What happened then?" Sango prodded.

"I went and played. Nothing came of it until much later that night..."

_:Resume Flashback:_

_Late that night, Michi slipped out her covers, crept quietly out of her room and snuck out of her home. Her little feet, scarcely made a sound as she slipped through the forest near her home. The full moon illuminated the path as she made her way towards her uncle's house. When she reached the clearing, she knelt down in the bushes and watched the man from earlier come out of the forest._

_" Taro, I have come. Where are you?" The man called out towards the house._

_Michi cocked her head to the side trying to figure out what was going on. She saw her uncle come out of his home, carrying Miroku in his arms. Michi strained her ears to hear what was being said, but all she could pick up was the sound of her uncle's tears. In fact, she could hear him weeping. The only time she'd ever heard a man weep was when his child died. Miroku! What if he was hurt or worse? Michi stood up to see, when she heard Miroku whimper. She quickly ducked back into the bushes to avoid being seen by the two men._

_" What is this? Why have you called me here?" The man in the animal skin demanded._

_Taro fell onto his knees in front of the man, sobbing. "Please, I can no longer bear this curse. I cannot live in the mouth of death day in and day out. Please, take this wind tunnel from me. Please Lord Naraku, I will give you my son. If you free me from this curse I will give him to you. You can do whatever you want with him." Taro reached his arms up and continued to cry out for mercy._

_Michi was frozen in fear near the end of the clearing. Naraku? He was the demon that cursed her grandfather all those many years ago. Her knees were shacking as she listened to her uncle plead. Miroku? Uncle Taro was giving up Miroku to the demon. No! She couldn't let it happen. She ran out from her hiding place and threw herself over the crying Miroku._

_" Please great Lord Naraku, don't take my cousin, he's only a baby. What use would you have for a baby? Please, don't take him. Great Lord, take me instead." Michi started out yelling, tears pouring down her face, but she ended in a trembling whimper._

_Naraku regarded both humans in front of him. He lifted the chin of the child and looked into her fear filled eyes. "What use **do** I have for children?" He looked up at Taro, "Bear your curse you trembling coward. I wouldn't save sniveling ass if you could bring me the Shikon jewel itself."_

_:End Flashback :_

Michi wiped her eyes and drew in a shaky breath. "After that Naraku vanished. I grabbed Miroku and ran back to my room. I stayed awake all night; terrified my uncle would come for him. The next morning the crops starting dying and so did the animals. Our water supply had been poisoned; we had to travel everyday to find safe water. Naraku's vengeance I suppose."

Kagome let out a pained sound.

"Does he know?" Sango questioned.

"No, and he must never know. He remembers his father well I want to keep it that way." Michi rubbed her own shoulders and shook her head. " Now you know, why I feel more like a mother, than anything else to Miroku."

"I can't believe he'd give up his own son. The man sounds like a coward." Sango glared at the thought. "Did he die the way Miroku remembers?"

"Yes and no." Michi flexed her right hand listlessly. "His father was destroyed by the wind tunnel, but he would have lasted longer if he hadn't been trying to save his own neck. I should explain that when Miroku was born with the wind tunnel it wasn't nearly as strong. In fact," Michi chuckled at the memory, "we used to play this game when Miroku was tiny. His wind tunnel didn't have enough power to pull anything in, so we would tap on his hand, where the pinprick was, and see how far we could get the tips of our fingers in before they'd get sucked off."

" Eep!" Kagome squealed. "You did this for fun?!?"

"We were bored. Miroku got a kick out of it; he was the center of attention. Anyway, when his father, decided he couldn't take it anymore; he tried passing the curse on, by cutting off his own arm. It didn't work and the wind tunnel killed him, but the real tragedy came from Miroku inheriting the full curse." Michi stood up and wrapped her body in a towel. She strode over to the door and caught the little girl in mid-stride. "Hello Tanaya, I heard you thumping up the steps. Are you ready for your bath?"

" Uh-huh." She grinned and let Michi undress her. After they both climbed back into the bath, Michi started scrubbing her daughter clean.

"So when did you wake up?" Michi poured water over Tanaya's head.

"When I heard Miko talking to Nia."

Michi smirked and the other two girls groaned. Michi continued cleaning her daughter as she asked. "What was he talking about with her?"

"I can't say." Tanaya bit her bottom lip, like she was trying to keep a secret inside her.

"Why not?" Michi gently prodded.

"Miko said it was a secret."

"But we don't keep secrets." Michi tickled her daughter. "Now what was that Miko of yours up to?"

Tanaya grinned and started giggling. "He said he wanted a baby."

Michi jumped and blinked in shock and confusion. While the Sango and Kagome groaned again.

"Oh, he did?" Michi rubbed the bridge of Tanaya's nose. "I'll have to talk to him about that, when we get finished."

Tanaya laughed again.

"Now what is it secret-keeper?"

Tanaya dropped her voice to a louder whisper. "He's peeking over there, by the hole in the wall."

"I see." Michi narrowed her eyes and held up her hand to Sango, who was trying to stand up. "Now then, let's get you dry." Michi climbed out and lifted Tanaya out of the water. After wrapping her own robes around herself she covered her daughter in a towel and held a finger to her lips.

Kagome and Sango both cocked their heads and watched Michi storm out of the bathhouse. They both stood up and covered themselves as they heard the telltale thump followed by stern and annoyed chiding.

" Outside my own bathhouse? Don't you have any respect for me anymore?" Michi complained giving her cousin another thump on the head.

" Michi, I have no idea, what you're talking about. I'm very confused; where am I?"

"Oh I'm so sure." Michi looped her little finger through his earrings kicked him in the rear. "Come back to the house you hopeless pervert."

" Ouch, Michi, that's my ear," Miroku complained, leaning his head down to avoid his ear being ripped. "And I'm rather attached to it."

" That's. Why. It's. Such. A good. Handle." Michi kicked him with every word as she dragged him towards the house."

Sango and Kagome both laughed out loud at the sight before them.

"I like that idea, it works rather well." Sango smiled, folding her arms over her chest.

"But if we tried it, we'd be in grabbing distance. She's the only who's safe doing that." Kagome complained.

" True."

"Ya know if I could find a genealogy chart I might be able to prove I'm his great, great, great, great, etc granddaughter, than I could keep his hands off me."

"You are assuming something there."

" What?"

"That he'll actually have descendants." Sango smirked mischievously.

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**Original Reviewer responses: **

**Special thanks to:**

**xX Iron-Reaver Xx (Naguriau-Chan):** Thank you for complimenting Michi. She's one character that I've created that I really enjoy and worked hard not to make her perfect and worked very to make her believable. Thank you so much for noticing her similarities to Miroku, that took time to hammer out. As for you're air-void question...I'm still working that out in my own head...if I make up my mind I'll let you know. Thanks again for the review, hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!

**Hikari:** Thank you so much for the review....ya know that scholar's tongue thing just popped into my head, while I was writing (must remember to buy my muse a candy bar).... Thank you for complimenting Michi I worked really hard on hammering out her personality to get her real and have some similarities to Miroku, so the relation could be believable. Also I'm so glad you feel that Miroku is in character that it one of the things I strive for. Thank you again!

**Jaid Skywalker:** Thank you so much for e-mailing me. You have no idea how touched I was. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. Thank you for the compliments on Michi and Miroku...I tried so hard to make them make sense. Thanks again.

**Nuklear Firefly:** Glad I've got ya hooked, I hope it stays that way


	5. pt5

**Authoress' notes:** Wow I feel so loved. You guys are so nice too me!! Now I like this chapter, adds a little bit of mystery to the mix. I have the next one typed up, but I'm still editing it...just to let you know I refuse to put up junk, if it isn't up to my standard, than it don't go up. Now you Miroku/Sango fans take heart, for in the next chapter you'll get your wish...and it will be worth it!!! Anyways, I hope you like this part and the next should be up soon!!

**EDIT- A lot of formatting changes and little grammar corrections**

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**Family Ties: Part 5**

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" Stupid monk, you almost cost me my bath." Inuyasha complained, as he soaked on the opposite side.

"She wouldn't have held my indiscretions against you; Michi's very fair in that regard." Miroku sighed and rolled his sore neck.

Inuyasha simply responded with his typical 'Feh' and flicked his ears.

Shippou surfaced from beneath the water and looked at Inuyasha. "Guess the sun hasn't set, yet, huh? Since you're still a demon."

Inuyasha grabbed the kitsune by the tail and dunked him under the water. " Go away you stupid runt; you're bothering me."

" Touchy, touchy." Shippou complained before paddling away from Inuyasha.

Inuyasha folded his arms over his chest and let his mind wander. Kagome had walked into the house with Sango and Tanaya, after Michi dragged Miroku in hollering at him in another language. He was going to complain about not being able to understand what was going on, but Kagome had walked up beside him and blanked his mind. Begrudgingly, he would admit that he liked Kagome's scent, but after the bath, she'd had the soft scent of Jasmine on her and it was too much. Jasmine was a night blooming flower; the one his father would bring to his mother. The temptation was overpowering and he'd sniffed the top of her head trying to get a better whiff of it. Kagome glanced up and caught him, but he told her he was just trying to figure out what she'd put on herself and of course he'd added an insult, infuriating her.

At least she didn't 'sit' him over it. She and Sango had been laughing about something that he didn't quite catch, he'd ask her about it later, once he was human and couldn't smell her as well.

Something else was bothering him though; the home didn't smell like a man had been in it for days. He smelled Michi's and Tanaya's scents were all over the place and that Nia woman's too, but she reeked of a man and rutting. That was the other thing; women almost always kept some residual scent of their mates, but Michi smelled clean as a maiden.

" Inuyasha! Did you hear me!?!" Shippou shouted to the hanyou, whose mind had obviously wandered.

" What?!?" He hollered back, annoyed his thinking had been interrupted.

" Never mind." Shippou huffed and jumped out of the bath. He shook off and dressed before dashing out the door.

" What's his problem?" Inuyasha wondered.

Miroku shrugged. "I honestly don't have a clue."

" Miroku, can I ask you somethin' about your cousin?"

The monk's eyebrows shot up confused why Inuyasha was being so polite. "Of course, what would you like to know?"

Inuyasha frowned thinking how he wanted to word the question. "Is she still tied to her mate? Tanaya's father, I mean."

Miroku blinked a few times, before answering the question tentatively. " Yes. Why do you want to know?"

"She doesn't smell like a man, at all; she's clean."

"I hope you have a point to this." Miroku's eyes narrowed, he didn't like having his cousin on trial. "She's a very honorable woman."

Inuyasha growled at the monk's misunderstanding of his meaning. "You don't get it you stupid monk, she only has casual smells on her. No one's mated with her for months or even tried. Isn't that unusual between human mates?"

"He's my husband not my mate." Michi stood in the doorway with her eyes covered modestly. "The term mate implies some type of mutual respect. Husband and wife are human terms and commonly are no more than legal ties." She cleared her throat. "I am sorry to interrupt your bath, but dinner is ready. Soak as long as you like, but if want your dinner hot, you may want to come in soon."

Miroku nodded. "Thank you Michi, we'll be up shortly."

Inuyasha only spared her a nod and quick glance, hoping to avoid a cold stare. When he looked at Michi, he caught her hand move slightly and her eyes glancing at his body. She bowed and quietly shut the bathhouse door.

"That cousin of yours..." Inuyasha sputtered. "She...she just..."

"What did you expect? We are related." Miroku laughed.

Inuyasha huffed and flattened his ears. "Damn it to all Hell, I'm in a house full of lechers."

"No, just the two of us and I'm not interested in you."

" Monk! I'm gonna kill you!"

* * *

Michi re-entered the house, where Sango and Kagome where dying off and talking with Tanaya. She looked at Nia, who was setting the table for dinner. "Keep the meal hot. They'll be up shortly."

"Yes, Lady Michi." Nia nodded respectfully.

Michi rolled her right wrist grimacing at her fingers that had grown frightfully numb again. After shaking the offending appendage, she ignored the nagging pain and continued down the hallway. "Are you feeling more rested?"

"Yes, but where are our clothes?" Sango pulled at the collar of her borrowed robe.

"Nia took them to be washed, sorry I didn't tell you before." Michi informed the women, before looking down at her daughter. "Tanaya, go fetch the things Nia laid out on my bed."

"Yes mother." Tanaya sped off like a rabbit.

" Where does that energy come from?" Kagome shook her head.

Michi laughed. "If I only knew."

Tanaya rushed back into the room with folded cloth. "Here they are."

"Good girl." Michi set down the clothes, but kept the top one in her hands. "Come here and let me get you dressed."

Tanaya stood obediently by her mother and let Michi dress her.

Kagome noticed that the outfit Michi was dressing Tanya in was made of a wool-type material. Maybe it was lama or something like that; it had to be expensive. The color wasn't common at all; it was lavender, with flowers decorating it in lighter and darker shades. The bottom of the outfit was pair of pants, and the top, which nearly reached the rambious girl's kness was accented with a Chinese type collar. It probably wasn't very common for this area, but never the less the little girl seemed to be comfortable in it.

"Miko will like that I'm wearing his present." Tanaya twirled to display her outfit.

"I'm sure he will. Now go play with Shippou." Michi shooed the child from the room.

" Miroku sent those for her?" Kagome questioned.

Michi nodded, "He's always sending gifts for her; spoils her rotten. That outfit came from the far north. Here I'll help you get dressed, these clothes will keep you until your own are dry." She looked into the hallway to assure herself that her daughter was out of hearing range, before asking quite calmly, though confused. " Could either of you possibly tell me why Inuyasha is interested in my, um, mating habits?"

Kagome and Sango both gaped at Michi's question. Kagome recovered first and managed a very embarrassed and awkward, "He asked you about that?!? I'm so sorry Michi! I can't believe it!" She continued indignantly. "Wait 'til he gets in here I'll sit him 'til he can't walk!"

"No! No!" Michi held up her hands in defensive of the hanyou. "He didn't say anything to me. He was discussing it with Miroku, whom I imagine wasn't very comfortable talking about that. I was just wondering why it might have come up."

"I am sorry, Michi." Kagome bowed her head, her cheeks on fire from her blush. "I don't know why he would've been asking about that."

"Why, should you apologize for him?" Michi looked confused. "You don't control him." She unfolded the first kimono and looked at it critically.

"But it must have been terribly embarrassing." Sango empathized.

Michi looked around the outfit, while arching an eyebrow. "You forget who your talking to. It takes a lot more than that to me uncomfortable." She rolled her neck. "But I want to know how you travel with them and not go insane."

"Eh?" Sango made a face; Michi surely wasn't alluding to what it sounded like.

"I mean I think Miroku's cute, because I always have in motherly sort-of-way, but that Inuyasha. He is certainly well built." She held the dark-blue kimono up to Kagome.

" Ahh!" Kagome jumped a mile in the air.

Michi started laughing. "I'm sorry. I didn't offend you did I?"

"No, but I've never heard a woman in this time... well...but when did you see...I mean...Ah!" Kagome stumbled over her words.

"You keep forgetting who I am. The curse of lechery has plagued my family long before my grandfather and affects both the men and women. The women just happen to be a little more discreet about it." Michi smirked and added quietly under her breath. "Only saw to his waist anyway."

Sango's eyes widened noticeably. "What was that?"

"Huh? Oh nothing, just talking to myself." Michi smiled secretively. " Now then let's get you dressed." She looked over the other two kimonos, before crossing back to Kagome. "This one should do nicely for you."

Kagome slipped off the bathrobe and let Michi help dress her in the dark blue kimono. She looked at the stars patterns on it done in silver, this much have cost a fortune. "It's beautiful, it must have cost a lot."

Michi tied the sash around Kagome's middle and secured it. "I made it."

"You made this? That's amazing." Kagome looked down at the outfit she was wearing, the rich fabric and color made her look almost like royalty. "It looks like the night sky. Where did you get the fabric?"

" Every year at planting and harvest, all the people gather in the market to exchange goods." She tugged at the top of Kagome's sleeves and made sure the kimono fit properly. "At harvest time I buy fabric and at next years planting I sell the kimonos I make. I've always been skilled at sewing, besides you can only farm three seasons out of the year, I need something to do during the winter months. There now, perfect, the color is beautiful on you."

"You make a profit that way?" Sango arched her eyebrow in confusion.

"In certain ways." Michi smiled and shook out a deep green kimono. " It all depends on how you look at it." She held the outfit up to Sango. "There we are."

Sango allowed Michi to help her get dressed, but felt slightly uncomfortable in the affluent garment. "Thank you."

"Oh you're welcome. It's no trouble." Michi dressed in a wine colored kimono, with intricate patters of a phoenix birds.

Nia bowed and announced dinner leading them back to kitchen as Miroku and Inuyasha re-entered the house.

Michi chucked, "Oh good, I was afraid we going to have to start with you."

" Well, Inuyasha hates to...um...miss a meal." Miroku stuttered slightly at the sight of Kagome and Sango dressed so elegantly.

"I see." Michi looked at Inuyasha, who seemed to be avoiding her gaze. "Inuyasha?"

" Huh?" He looked at her cautiously.

"I hope the food is too your liking. And don't worry about your prior conversation; I don't hold it against you; though I would like to talk to you about it at a later time." Michi's flipped her long ebony hair back behind her, than called to the children. "Tanaya, Shippou, its time for dinner."

The hanyou fought the blush trying to creep into his cheeks. Damn curiosity; he was a dog demon, not a cat. He flopped down next to Kagome forgetting about her scent until she leaned over to ask him something.

" Inuyasha?" She whispered, invading his space a little more.

" What?!?" He half barked, praying that damn sun to set already so he wouldn't have his sharp senses.

"What was Michi talking about?" She smiled innocently, too innocently.

'_Damn-it; she's gonna sit me!'_ He thought before responding, " Nothing important."

"Oh, okay." Kagome settled back to where she'd been sitting before and smiled at Sango.

'_Okay? What the hell! What is that wench planning now?'_ Inuyasha sat back and glanced at Kagome noting the beautiful blue outfit she was wearing made her almost seem to belong there with them. 'But she doesn't.' Nagged the little voice in the back of his head; he snorted and folded his arms over his chest.

* * *

Dinner was full of laughter and conversation. Miroku and Michi dominated it, but they did it with such pleasant flare that the others simply listened contently. Michi was an animated storyteller talking with her hands and occasional adding voices to her tales. Tanaya sat happily between her mother and Miroku occasionally adding her little voice to the conversation. The food was wonderful; Nia was quick to serve everyone, though Miroku seemed to be her favorite person at the table.

Miroku didn't mind the attention from Nia, but he didn't miss the sniffing and upturned nose of Inuyasha. Nia must smell like a man, he wondered if Michi was aware of her maidservant's apparently inappropriate behavior. As Michi's maidservant Nia should have remained a maiden. His mind drifted to his earlier conversation with Inuyasha, I wonder...

" Miko!!" Tanaya called out to her 'uncle' annoyed he hadn't answered her.

" Sorry Tanaya, what were you saying?" He turned to her and smiled.

"I wanna show you my garden before the sun goes down." She tugged on his sleeve.

" Tanaya, mind your manners." Michi chided her daughter.

" She's alright." Miroku waved off his cousin's rebuke and stood to his feet. "I would love to see this garden of yours."

* * *

**Original Review Responses:**

**Review Responses:**

**Araki-chan:** Thanks for the review. Please be patient, I promise their will be quite the moment in the next chapter...It will be well worth the wait.

**BabyPrin:** Thanks for the review. I'm glad you're enjoying it so much. I hope you liked this part too!!

**Nuklear Firefly:** Bows Thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you like the idea. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!!

**Coherentidiot:** Blushes Wow, thank you so much. I'm so glad that you decided to read this and now like it...hope this was up to par!! (Side note: I love your name!!)

**Assyla:** I hope you enjoyed this too!! Thanks for the review!

**xX Iron-Reaver Xx:** I just love your reviews they are always so great! I'm glad you like the story. And yes I did design Taro psycho, but that's the way he needed to be. Thanks again for reviewing I hope you liked this part to!!

Shameless plug: Go to xX Iron-Reaver Xx's website: It's awesome!!

**Hikari:** Removes rabid fan from her collar and gently pushes her into a chair "Be calm and do not attack the writer; she scares easily."

Now than, thanks for the review I'm so glad you like it!! History is always important to characters. I hope you like where I continue to take this story!

**Jaid Skywalker:** Wow. I'm so glad you like it enough to put it on your favorites. I hope you like the further I go with it!! Thanks for the review and I promise to crawl out of my hole in the ground and send you that review I owe!


	6. pt6

**Authoress' Notes:** Okay, yeah so this ran away with me a bit. So ya'll get a longer chapter, but if it takes me a little more time to whip out the next, please be patient...it's gonna be harder to write, but I'll do my best. Basically I'm upping the emotion with this one!! There is a great Miroku/Sango scene and what was supposed to be a short Inu/Kagome scene that ran away with me completely. I hope everyone likes this chapter. Please review; I always appreciate it!!!

**EDIT - In the edit mostly I just focused on the grammar again and fixing a couple little things I wasn't totally satisfied with.**

* * *

**Family Ties: Part 6**

* * *

Sango had been walking to the guest room to fetch her flute, when she heard Miroku talking to Tanaya. She peered into the child's room and saw Miroku sitting on Tanaya's bed telling her a story. Tanaya was looking up at him with mystified, yet tired eyes. Sango paused in the hallway listening to Miroku spin the tale.

"He separated them from each other and attempted to use his poison on the warrior prince. Now the thief didn't realize the power the evil brother possessed and tried to aid the warrior prince, unfortunately the evil brother poisoned the thief."

Tanaya's eyes widened in fear, "Oh-no, did the thief die?"

"If you will listen I will tell you." Miroku tapped her nose and cleared his throat. "Now as I was saying, the thief was poisoned by the evil brother. The little spirit snuck under the evil brother and rescued the thief from the evil brother's clutches. The brothers clashed fiercely with sword and wicked whip both trying to gain an advantage over the other. The warrior prince's sword was knocked way by the evil brother's whip. The holy princess' reached her bow and arrows and attempted to stop the evil brother, but he struck her and knocked her away. The warrior prince didn't reach the holy princess in time to break her entire fall and she struck her head on the rocks."

Tanaya eyes widened with fear, "But she was okay wasn't she?"

" Who's telling this story?"

" Sorry Miko."

Miroku kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about it. I never listened without questions when I was your age. Now than, as I was saying: Thankfully the holy princess was only knocked out, not really hurt but unable to run away. The warrior prince called to the thief to come and take the holy princess away from the battle. But holy princess awoke and told the warrior prince that she needed to stay with him, but he shoved her away and told her to run and not return until the battle was over. The holy princess and little spirit helped get the thief to safety while the battle between the brothers raged on. After getting them to a cave the holy princess looked back to the battle and announced that she was going back to save the warrior prince. The thief warned her the warrior prince would be angry, the holy princess didn't care and went back anyway. The holy princess reached the battle just in time to save the warrior prince from his evil brother's final blow."

"The holy princess saved the warrior prince? Wow! She must be really strong!"

" Indeed, she was. And so the evil brother retreated and the holy princess rushed to the warrior prince. The two talked for a while and agreed that they would continue to travel to together until the evil brother and the Lord of Hell were defeated for good and the Spirit stone was whole once again."

Tanaya's mouth dropped open, "But how does end? Do they defeat the evil brother? Does the thief recover from his injury? Does he find someone to love? What about the prince and the princess, do they live happily ever after, even though they live so far away from each other?"

Sango let a soft smile pass over her lips as she listened to the two interact.

" Quite the storyteller isn't he?" Michi whispered to Sango.

Sango blushed furiously, embarrassed at being caught.

Michi walked by her and into her daughter's room. "You were supposed to be putting her to sleep, Love. Look at her, she's wide-awake with questions."

Miroku smiled and kissed Tanaya's head. "The story is still being written little angel. Now off to sleep with you."

"Oh, one more story, please!" Tanaya pleaded.

Michi kissed her daughter's forehead. "No. It's time to sleep. Goodnight Tanaya."

She huffed, disappointed, but snuggled beneath the covers. "Okay. Goodnight mama. Goodnight Miko."

" _Goodnight father. Goodnight Kohaku. I love you."_ The words echoed in Sango's mind as she let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She quickly decided that she needed some fresh air to clear her mind.

* * *

Miroku watched her glide through the flower garden, with the kind of grace that any geisha would have killed for. The dark green kimono would have made her nearly invisible, but the ornate while, pink and golden flowers shined in the pale light from the outside torches. Her hair was out of its usual band and flowed freely around her face. He wanted to walk over and tuck the loose hair behind her ear and watch the shock register on her features. But she'd killed him for it and he as more content to just watch her. He caught a glimpse of her face as she turned to inspect a plant; her expression was wistful not sad as he expected it to be. Normally, when she walked on her own it was to hide the grief she carried with her over her fallen family and friends. He truly hadn't noticed her beauty before tonight, and he'd nearly gone speechless at the site of her. Before he'd seen her independence, strength, intelligence, pain-filled heart and yes that wonderfully formed body of hers, but he'd missed the true beauty of the woman that she was. He was in awe of how delicate the exterminator looked...

" Houshi-sama, how long are you going to stand there starring at me?" She called out to him, her tone amused if anything.

He laughed quietly as he walked up to her teasing, "Until you catch me and hit me with something."

Sango turned to face him, "I'm unarmed."

" That's no comfort knowing the strength you possess."

She chuckled under her breath and turned her gaze upward toward the stars. They enjoyed the peaceful quiet as wolves howled and crickets chirped out their night songs. "You aren't truly afraid of me, are you Houshi-sama?"

"Only when you're angry, Sango."

She nodded, apparently satisfied with his answer. "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

She bit her lip, before speaking. "Where did Michi learn the scholars' tongue?"

Miroku chuckled, "Moushin was never one for rules and I wasn't one for sitting still when I was young." He smiled. "I should explain that Michi was training to be a priestess, before her father married her off to Ryu. She was older when she began her training; so to understand the basics she trained with Moushin, who was trying to train me. Moushin didn't have the patience to keep reclaiming my attention, so he would teach both of us the lessons and then Michi would pound, and I do mean pound, them into me later." He laughed again at some far off memory.

Sango glanced up at him, and felt her heart jumped at the honest smile on his face. "She must be very intelligent, than. I would assume that she can read as well."

"She reads very well and has a fluent writing form. She's teaching Tanaya to read and write as well."

" That's a very rare thing, especially among woman. That'll serve Tanaya well." Sango smoothed the skirt of her outfit.

" That's my hope."

" Michi doesn't speak of her husband at all and I notice that he isn't here, was he killed recently?" Sango wondered.

'_If only.'_ Miroku thought, there certainly wasn't any love lost between he and Ryu, Michi's _dear_ husband. The man was a moron and completely undeserving of someone like Michi. He didn't want alarm Sango with what he was thinking, so his response was simple and civil. "He tends the back fields. Michi says that it's common for him to stay out there for days at a time."

"I would imagine that she isn't very fond of him then; not surprising since she was training to be a priestess and not a wife. It's probably hard to have all that knowledge and not be able to really use it." Sango tugged on the sleeve of the kimono.

Miroku looked down at the exterminator, shocked at the fact that she'd known what he'd really been thinking.

"Your face slipped." Sango told him answering his unasked question.

"What do you mean?"

She smiled softly, "Since we've been here, you've been more relaxed. I've been able to see your emotions on your face. It's a nice to see you honest." She glanced up into those startled eyes and decided to let him off the hook she'd dangled him on. "Your eyes look blue in this light, I always thought they had a purple hint to them."

"Well that it is a royal color." He smiled grateful for the change in subject.

"I've never been found of royalty." Sango smirked.

"That is why, I am so glad, you see me as blue." He raised his eyebrows as Sango rolled her eyes.

"You misinterpret me, Houshi-sama," She pushed his hand away from the small of her back, before it had a chance to slip and she'd have to lose her temper. "I see you as what you are."

"Then you are a rare woman indeed."

Sango looked up at him startled by the compliment. "Thank you, Miroku."

He didn't answer her, but simply nodded and the two slipped back into comfortable silence. _'She actually said my name.'_ He noted to himself, he rather liked the way it rolled off her tongue; with the slight accent she had from her region. He was tempted to make mention of her slip, but decided against it, it would only make her angry and as beautiful as she was when displaying that emotion; he wanted her company. He decided to resume their conversation, "May I ask what drew you out here?"

" Thinking." She rubbed her arms as she folded them beneath her chest and smiled thoughtfully.

" Pleasant thoughts I take it."

" Pleasant memories would be more accurate."

Miroku was surprise by her statement. Normally when she spoke of her past, she focused simply on her learned knowledge of demons and the pain she felt by Naraku's hand. He touched her shoulder chastely. "I would love to hear about this pleasant memory of yours."

Sango turned her face away to hide the blush that colored her cheeks. "You'll laugh at me."

Miroku blinked surprised at her reaction. He gently turned her face back towards his. "I would never."

She felt herself blush even redder, if it were possible. She brushed away his hand away not able to concentrate with the contact. "My father. You reminded me of my father." She whispered nearly inaudibly.

His eyes widened, he knew how much Sango loved her father and for her to compare them seemed completely ludicrous. He kept his voice steady and calm and he asked, "How so?"

"When I was Tanaya's age, even younger, my father would come home and spin me tales of his demon slayings. He would sit on the edge of my bed and recount the stories so vividly that I could see them if I closed my eyes." She paused and drew a deep breath. "Since we've been here I've been flooded with memories of my family and how much I miss my old life...I mean seeing you and Michi it...it reminds me of Kohaku and the things I miss most about..."

Miroku heard the chocked sob. She had dropped her gaze admits recounting her memories. He raised her chin and stared into her deep brown eyes as tears streaked down her face.

"I'm sorry. I was so happy before and now..." She stopped as Miroku brought his finger to her lips and wiped the tears from her cheeks with the other.

" Don't be sorry." He held her face in his hands and the moment froze for an instant.

It was one of those points in time, where the people in it, forget who they are and just exist to be near the other person. Their breathing evened and he lowered his face to hers; just as he could feel her breath she spoke.

" Houshi-sama," She licked her lips and tried to breathe, "are you going to kiss me?"

Miroku involuntarily smirked at the tremor in her voice, he knew that tremor; it was desire floating below inhibition. He was impressed at his own control since when she'd licked her lips, she's gotten his as well. "Do you want me to?" He figured he should answer her question.

Sango thought her heart would explode it was beating so hard. She could taste his breath, feel the warmth of his body radiate into hers, but she couldn't...not like this... "No."

He would have been offended, but the waver in her voice was still there. He smiled and didn't make an effort to move as he whispered. " Very well. You tell me when you do and I'll be happy to oblige you." He kissed her forehead and left her standing in complete confusion.

* * *

Miroku entered the house and met Michi in the doorway.

"I wish you wouldn't do that." She lamented.

" What? I haven't done anything to you. I've been outside a for while now." A satisfied smile crossed over his features.

"That is what I am talking about." Michi sighed sadly. "I saw you. You overstep your bounds."

"I didn't do anything." Miroku defended.

"But you would have." Michi narrowed her eyes at her cousin. "She is taijiya, is she not?"

"Yes, but I..."

" Miroku, she has no one; her village was destroyed; her people, killed. She has nothing and no one."

Miroku didn't answer as the two stared at each other.

"Have your fun, Love; I can't fault you for that, but have with someone who has no reputation or with someone whose family can rescue them. All she has is her innocence. If ever she wants a family life, she has nothing to bring to husband save her purity. Her spirit and strength should be enough, but they won't be. Don't make a game out of her." Michi pleaded.

"I care for her, I wouldn't do that." Miroku was agitated by the lecture. "There is something about her that I feel, but I..." He trailed off not knowing what to say.

" There's a big difference between love and lust." Michi pointed out.

"I know that." He glared at his cousin.

Michi sighed and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I don't mean to make you angry, but I want you to be careful." She started walking out of the home.

" Michi, be careful of what?" He called to her.

"Of yourself, Love, of yourself." She answered walking away.

Miroku shook his head and started back through the house, when he noticed the papers on the floor. Kneeling down he picked them up and sifted through them. They were all written in Michi's fluid, elegant hand, but one caught his attention more than the others. It had been written some time ago, but hadn't been dated. The edges were stained with dirt and blood.

"**My baby was taken – my second little girl – He took her from me. I dug up her grave; her little neck had been broken. I didn't give him what he wanted. So comes the revenge of a man. All men want are heirs; children they have no use for."**

Miroku clenched his fists and took a deep cleansing breath. After a few moments of being still he decided that meditation was not going to help this situation. This was righteous indignation and that no god in heaven or hell would hold him accountable. He checked on Tanaya, who was happily chatting with her doll, then told Kagome he was going into town and would be back later. He grabbed his staff from where he had left it against the door; Ryu would pay dearly for this atrocity.

* * *

Kagome wasn't sure what was wrong with Miroku, and she was no in a hurry to go chasing after him to find out. He'd looked ready to kill; his eyes were frighteningly cold. He'd been so curt with her that she hadn't even thought of asking him what was wrong. He told her that he was going to town and would be back later in the evening, but the teasing smile he'd attempted, looked so fake that Kagome knew something had happened. Maybe he'd gotten into a fight with Michi. In her own experience if she and Souta were having a spat one of them usually stalked off and this was Michi's house, so that would make sense.

She looked around the sitting area, finding herself devoid of conscious company. Nia had already bid her goodnight and left for her room, Shippou was asleep curled up next to the fire and Kirara was almost asleep too. Okay now, Michi went looking for Miroku and Sango and it looked like she had found Miroku at least, but now where were Sango and Michi? She knew Inuyasha was sulking somewhere trying to stay out of sight and away from people, so she wasn't too worried about him. Kagome yawned and decided that everyone could take care of themselves for the night, she was going to get a good night's sleep. She found a blanket for Shippou and covered him up before walking back to the guestroom.

She found it fairly easy to walk in the kimono; maybe she'd start wearing one, when she stayed here. She stepped on the kimono and down she went. Thud. "Then again, I think not." Kagome sighed and picked herself off the ground and rubbed her sore knees. She was relieved that no one had seen her and retrieved the candle from the floor. Surprisingly, despite her ungraceful move, the candle had landed on its stand and the flame was still burning. She walked into the guest room and noticed that Inuyasha was sitting in the corner. She thought he was sleeping and tried to creep in as quietly as possible, shading the candle to block the light.

"I'm awake." He voiced, startling Kagome, who dropped the candle again. Inuyasha snatched it up before anything could catch on fire, namely him, and set it away from Kagome. He looked at her, as she tried to catch her breath from the fright he'd given her. Her hand over her heaving chest, eyes wide open, mouth parted trying to pull in as much air as possible. The candle shed an eerie light over her features and illuminated those beautiful eyes of hers. The whole scene was tantalizing to his human senses as he leaned forward trying to make sure she was okay.

"I didn't mean to scare ya." He admitted, lifting her face by placing his hand on the side of her neck and using his thumb to tip it up. That was a bad move on his part for two reasons: one, he was close enough to smell her and two, he could feel her pulse racing under his fingers.

Kagome felt the blush fly into her cheeks at the sensation at his touch. " Oh that's okay." She managed to squeak out, before swallowing hard. Nope he still had his hand there against her neck. "I just didn't realize you were awake." She was staring right into his eyes, although she found herself almost wishing they were yellow.

"Were you planning on doing something to me if I wasn't?" He asked, with a perverted smirk.

Kagome managed a frustrated sound and pulled away from him a bit. Her skin was still tingling from his touch, but she managed to huff at him. " That's it, I'm never leaving you and Miroku alone again."

Inuyasha got a devilish smile on his face, "So which one of us are you taking down to bathe with?"

Kagome's mouth dropped open in shock and she couldn't come up with a decent come back. "I'm going to bed." She muttered defeated.

Inuyasha didn't want this game to end. He was winning damn-it! It wasn't fair for her to quit when he was on a role. Especially when he was having fun. He watched her adjust her bed and prepare to climb in when he asked, "Can I come too?"

Kagome rolled her eyes; she knew how to end this little game, without even a 'sit.' "Only if you are cold and you say please." She smiled triumphantly, knowing that his pride wouldn't let him do either. She heard a little grunt come from him and she pulled back the covers, when his arm suddenly appeared around her waist.

" Please, can I come to bed? I'm very, very cold." He whispered into her ear, not missing her shocked sound or feel of her heart rate double. He'd have to try this again sometime, when he was hanyou and had his sharper senses.

Kagome was trying to remember how to breathe. _' First in then out right?'_ She couldn't believe how close he was to her, how every one of her nerves was practically on fire. Then she heard him chuckle, her face dropped. He was still playing; it was a game to him. "Let go." She whispered pain filling her voice and tears filling her eyes.

Inuyasha didn't let go, but leaned around her to get a look at her face. Why was she crying? Had he hurt her somehow? She sniffled and pushed at his arm, but he didn't budge.

"Let go, please." She struggled against him. "I don't wanna play anymore. You win, okay."

Had he been in his hanyou form his ears would have flicked. "What did I do? Are you upset 'cause I beat you?"

Kagome squirmed in his arms, "No. I just..." She trailed off and tried not to cry. "I'll say it!" She threatened half-heartedly.

" Don't do that." He barked at her.

"Why cause then I'll win?" She managed to get herself half turned in his arms so she could look into his eyes.

Inuyasha chuckled again and brushed the tears from her face. "No, if you do that I'll land on you. That'll hurt, you."

Kagome thought about that for moment, then took a better look at their seating arrangement. She was sitting between his legs; pinned by his thighs, actually, and his one arm was securely wrapped around her. Nope, she wasn't going anywhere until he was done playing. She wanted to go to sleep; her heart hurt. "Let me go so I can sleep, okay?"

"Why so you can cry half the night? Tell me what I did!" Inuyasha released his hold on her waist, but kept her trapped between his legs. He held her face in his hands, so he could see her face better. He hated these human senses they were too damn dull. Finally seeing that she was only going to fight him some more he decided to tip the scales in his favor. Okay swallow the pride; win the war. "Please, tell me."

Kagome wasn't sure what to think, two pleases in one night? Of course the first one had been purely in play, but this one was honest. The closeness between them was mind numbing. "I don't want to be a game to you." More tears flowed down her face.

" Don't cry." He whispered and wiped the tears away. " You aren't a game."

She lost it and started bawling. Wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest. "Why are you so mean to me?"

Inuyasha could barely hear her words over her sobs, and he cursed the night again. He held her in his arms and smoothed her hair trying to whisper some sort of comfort to her. The scent of jasmine invaded his senses and he rested his head on top of Kagome's. "I don't intend to be cruel all the time, it slips sometimes." She sniffled and looked up at him. "I've got rotten people skills remember?" He reminded her.

Kagome smiled though her tears. "Yeah, one day I'll fix that."

He smirked back, glad to have her happy again. "And I'll become a demon the next."

Kagome huffed, "If I wasn't wearing this I'd challenge you to the tickle fight of your life!"

Inuyasha looked at her again and straightened the shoulders of the garment. " It looks nice on you. Now come on, let's get some sleep." He started to get up, when she grabbed his wrist.

" Sleep here and keep me warm?" She requested.

"If that's what you want." He huffed and let her lie down, before settling in next to her. They both shifted a few times, trying to get comfortable with the sleeping arrangement. Kagome ended up using him as a pillow and Inuyasha had his arms wrapped around her waist. After he was sure she was fast asleep he informed her. "I'm cruel to protect you from me. I can't hurt you, if I don't let you get close. I really do care about you. I'm sorry."

* * *

Tanaya cradled her doll in her arms as she felt her eyelids get heavy. " Suki, I've got a secret. I talked to a white monkey today and he said he'd bring me a present." She smiled happily and squeezed her doll before cocking her head to one side as if she heard something outside her window. She scrambled out of bed and pushed the curtain to one side.

The white baboon was playing a flute from the tree he was sitting in. " Come out and play, Tanaya. I have your gift."

Tanaya looked behind her than scrambled out the window, without another thought.

Suki, forgotten in the rush fell against the floor with a thud, causing a crack to run down her porcelain face.

_Ducks the flying objects I'm sorry, I guess that was a bit off a drop off...well catch ya next time...but you know my muse LOVES reviews_

* * *

**Original Reviewer Responses:**

**Special thanks to:**

**Nuklear Firefly, Coherentidiot, xX Iron-Reaver Xx, hikari, Pizza Is Cheesy, Araki-chan, BabyPrin, Jaid Skywalker –** Okay guys I love you more than life itself but its 12:30 and I have my friend's sick little girl to watch...I figured you'd rather have me update than respond to all the reviews and make you wait...But: Thanks for laughing!! – I'm glad you liked the comedy! Yes I expect coherent reviews, but will accept ones that border or are far from it... Yes the "Two lecher" line is mine and yes I love it, but I'm happier that you do!! Please don't scare the authoress, I'll run into my little hole in the ground! But anyways, thank you for the reviews they are so encouraging!!


	7. EXTRA FEATURE

**Authoress' notes: EXTRA FEATURE!!** I wrote this myself and wanted to show it off, since its in the middle of the story and I think it turned out cute...Can't you just see Miroku telling this?

* * *

**Tashana Ambrosia**: I just had to post this little thing...this is the story that Miroku tells to Tanaya as he's putting her to sleep...or sort of.

**Miroku**: I object to you putting this up.

**Tashana Ambrosia**: Why?

**Miroku**: Because, it portrays me in a foolish light.

**Tashana Ambrosia**: Did you read what I did to Inuyasha in the chapter before last?

**Miroku**: That is completely beside the point. I do not determine such factors by comparisons.

**Tashana Ambrosia**: Thinking _Okay I know how to make you cooperate_. Speaks Well okay if you say so, but...

**Miroku**: Looks interested But what?

**Tashana Ambrosia**: Girls really like guys that are good with kids.

**Miroku**: Then by all means post away!!!

**Tashana Ambrosia**: Thought that would get ya! Well I hope ya'll enjoy this!!

**Miroku**: Yes! enjoy the story a lot!! And my number is...

**Tashana** drags **Miroku **off with a threat: No playtime yet. I haven't finished torturing you.

* * *

**Inuyasha, as told by Miroku to his 5yr old niece Tanaya**

There was a very holy princess, who lived along time ago in the kingdom of the dead. She watched over Heaven with her gracious father, who was the king of that world.

One day a warrior prince and his evil brother were fighting and the evil brother was killed and sent to Hell. But the ruler of Hell had plans for the evil brother, for you see the ruler of Hell wanted the sacred Spirit stone for himself so that he could rule the kingdom of the dead. So the ruler of Hell concocted a spell that would bring the evil brother back to life and replace the arm that he lost in the battle with the warrior prince.

So the evil brother sought out the Spirit stone, which was in the care of the wife of the warrior prince. When the evil brother came upon his brother's wife he demanded she give him the stone. She knew that the evil brother could over power her so she split the Spirit stone into a hundred pieces and sent it flying across the earth. The evil brother was so angry that he killed her.

When the warrior prince returned from his latest battle, he was heartbroken to find his beautiful wife dead. He cried for three days and nights, than a spell came upon him and he lay sleeping on his wife's grave for fifty years.

The holy princess of the dead looked down from heaven and saw that the evil brother was very close to gathering all the pieces of the Spirit stone. So she decided that she would have to stop him, but she knew she couldn't do it on her own. Her father told her that the only way for her to travel to the earth to complete the task was to be born a human and grow up, but that would take far too long. The evil prince would have gathered all the pieces by that point. The only other way for her to go to the earth would be for her to find a willing soul in heaven to combine with hers, forever binding them together. The holy princess knew she could find someone willing, but explained that she would also need fighter to help her should the evil brother try to stop her. The king of the dead said that she would have to find someone on her own.

The holy princess came upon the warrior prince's wife among her subjects. She agreed to the merge and said that all she wanted in return was for the holy princess to revive her love from where he slept on her grave. The two became one and the holy princess descended to earth.

When at last she came upon the warrior prince she was amazed at how young he still looked, for in fifty years he had not changed at all. She leaned down to whisper to the warrior prince, but his eyes opened and he stared at her in shock. At first he thought that this was his wife, but than he realized that she wasn't and he got very angry about being awoken. 'Leave me be. I have no use for you.'

The holy priestess got just as angry with him and yelled that his evil brother was collecting the pieces of the Spirit stone and it was almost complete. She told him, 'your wife died protecting the stone. Don't you care?'

The warrior prince stood up and said that he would aid the holy princess in the quest, but wanted nothing from her. The two were off to a very poor start indeed.

Soon the two found themselves in a forest that had been burned to the ground and a child-like forest spirit mourning in its ashes. The little spirit was very sad for he had lost all his trees and friends to the fire, which had been caused by two evil sorcerers. The warrior prince wanted to leave the little spirit, for he had never dealt much with children, but the holy princess loved the little spirit and wouldn't abandon him. The warrior prince wasn't very happy about bringing along the spirit, but it made the holy princess happy, so he didn't say anything. They eventually came upon the two sorcerers and a great battle between the ensued between them and the warrior prince. The warrior prince eventually killed them, avenging the forest for the little spirit. The little spirit was so thankful that he decided to stay with the warrior prince and the holy princess until their mission was complete.

After they had been traveling together for a while they came upon a roguishly handsome thief, who immediately recognized the beauty of the holy princess. But the thief was trying to avenge his father's death and needed pieces of the Spirit stone to do this, so he stole the ones from the holy princess. The warrior prince was very angry and demanded the thief fight him for the pieces. The thief was a very good fighter and quite resourceful, in fact he was going to run the prince through, when the holy princess blocked his blade's path. The thief was very surprised at the holy princess' actions and asked why she had put herself in harm's way to save the warrior prince. She said that they were on a quest to collect the pieces of the Spirit stone and defeat the warrior prince's evil brother. The thief and the holy princess discovered that they were seeking the same man and agreed to work together. The warrior prince wasn't happy about having another traveling companion, but again the holy princess' wisdom about 'the more help we have the better off will be' won him over. The little spirit didn't know what to make of the thief, but he sure enjoyed the food that the thief got.

The four traveling companions got along very well together, except for the times that the thief would compliment the holy princess' beauty, for that would make the warrior prince very angry. Now the thief was very honorable in most senses, his only problem being that his fingers would occasionally slip and he would steal something.

Now one clear day the group was traveling through the mountains, when the warrior prince's evil brother attacked them. He separated them from each other and attempted to use his poison on the warrior prince. Now the thief didn't realize the power the evil brother possessed and tried to aid the warrior prince, unfortunately the evil brother poisoned the thief. The little spirit snuck under the evil brother and rescued the thief from the evil brother's clutches. The brothers clashed fiercely with sword and wicked whip both trying to gain an advantage over the other. The warrior prince's sword was knocked way by the evil brother's whip. The holy princess' reached her bow and arrows and attempted to stop the evil brother, but he struck her and knocked her away. The warrior prince didn't reach the holy princess in time to break her entire fall and she struck her head on the rocks. Now thankfully she was only knocked out, not really hurt but unable to run away.

The warrior prince called to the thief to come and take the holy princess away from the battle. The holy princess awoke and told the warrior prince that she needed to stay with him, but he shoved her away and told her to run and not return until the battle was over. The holy princess and little spirit helped get the thief to safety while the battle between the brothers raged on. After getting them to a cave the holy princess looked back to the battle and announced that she was going back to save the warrior prince. The thief warned her the warrior prince would be angry, the holy princess didn't care and went back anyway. The holy princess reached the battle just in time to save the warrior prince from his evil brother's final blow. The evil brother retreated and the holy princess rushed to the warrior prince. The two talked for a while and agreed that they would continue to travel to together until the evil brother and the lord of Hell were defeated for good and the Spirit stone was whole once again.


	8. pt7

**Authoress' notes: **I was so afraid to write this chapter. I'm really not so hot on writing action sequences and basically this is what this chapter is. Hopefully everything makes sense...I think it turned out rather well overall. Please review and tell me if you think it turned out okay. Thanks guys. I hope you enjoy this :-/

**EDIT - I didn't actually mess with this too much in the edit I was very happy overall with the result of this.**

* * *

**Family Ties: Part 7**

* * *

Shippou raised his head from beneath the blanket he'd been snuggling under and blinked as he looked around the dark room. His nose twitched, and flicked his ears; trying to figure out what had stirred him from sleep. Kirara was also awake; her yellow-red eyes shine reflecting in the dull light.

"Did you sense something too, Kirara?" He asked quietly, mindful of the late hour and sleeping humans.

The demon-cat rose to her feet and sniffed the air quizzically. She started towards the door trying to get a better sense of the scent she was picking up from the wind.

"Hey, wait for me." Shippou complained scrambling behind the demon-cat. "Shouldn't we get Inuyasha?"

Kirara yawned and padded through the doorway of the home. She raised her head and got a better whiff of the scent in the chilled night air and twitched her ears as she listened. She continued her path to the back of the house outside a window.

" Whatcha find?" Shippou asked sniffing the ground beside Kirara. "That's Tanaya's scent. What's she going out this late at night for?"

Kirara cocked her head to one side and mewed, as if to say, "I don't know."

" Think we should go look for her? I mean since Inuyasha isn't a demon tonight and Kagome and Sango are worn out and wait a minute where'd Miroku go?" Shippou rambled until glancing around and noticed Kirara had started towards the forest without him. " Kirara? Kirara! Wait for me!" He called out and raced behind her.

The two entered the forest and were completely unaware of the sound of a flute on the breeze or the fog that rolled in behind them.

* * *

"You play beautifully." Michi complimented sitting next to Sango on the open porch.

Sango jumped and nearly dropped her flute. "You startled me."

" Sorry, I walk quiet." Michi laughed.

"Your whole family seems to have that problem." Sango sighed and turned her flute over in her hands, studying the grooves on it.

Michi offered a roguish grin, "We practice."

"That does not surprise me." Sango looked out at the forest as the two fell into a small stretch of silence.

"He didn't hurt you did he?" Michi suddenly asked.

Sango looked surprised by the question, "Miroku?" When Michi nodded, Sango shook her head. "No, he didn't hurt me. I just do not understand him."

"I'm glad; that he didn't hurt you. I was watching you two in the garden."

Sango blushed furiously and dropped her head. "I...um..."

Michi taped Sango on the shoulder, "Don't worry about it. He can be charming, when he wants to be. Which is probably what is he is right now." She muttered.

Sango arched her eyebrow, "Did he go somewhere?"

"I would imagine he went into the village."

Sango's expression darkened slightly, "I see. That's not too much of surprise, knowing him."

Michi glanced over at the young girl, before speaking. "He isn't very fond of my lectures which I suppose I should quite giving or he'll never come around to see me."

" Lecture?" Sango asked confused.

"Oh, it was nothing, just trying to keep him out of grave he seems intent on digging." Michi glared out at the woods and flexed the fingers of her right hand.

"I don't understand." Sango shook her head. "What do you mean by a grave, he's digging?"

"It's nothing, I shouldn't bother you with this. I'm thinking out loud, and probably not making much sense anyways. But I should ask you, it's late and getting colder, why are you out here?"

Sango watched Michi clench and unclench her right fist. "Miroku does that too." Sango indicated to Michi's motions. "Why?"

Michi looked at her right hand, than touched the side of Sango's face with it. She laughed as Sango jumped, pulled away and rubbed her cheek quickly.

"Your hand's like ice." She exclaimed.

"I know that's why I'm always looking at my fingers and moving them. I can't really feel them." Michi sighed and pulled off her glove. "It's been getting worse recently. It even hurts now, sometimes." She pulled the offending hand closer to her body and rubbed it trying to get the circulation back.

"I'm sorry." Sango looked at Michi's solemn expression and noticed how much browner her eyes were than Miroku's. "I didn't realize. Do you think it's the curse?"

Michi looked up as if that has snapped her back into reality. "It may be, but don't trouble yourself over it. I'm a bad hostess to heap my problems on you."

"I don't mind." Sango bit her lip, upon hearing Michi rise to her feet. She stood up as well and started inside behind Michi, when she got up the courage to ask. "Where did you get the scars? No demon makes those marks." Sango's second sentence had not been a question.

"I should know better than to try and fool a taijiya." Michi shook her head. "What were marriages like in your village?"

Sango didn't see the relevance to the question, but opted to answer. " They were happy, mostly; normally a mutual agreement. The man and woman respected each other, but why do you ask?"

Michi looked at Sango for moment before answering. "I'm sure you've traveled enough places to know that not all men respect their wives, it is no different here. Ryu, my husband, didn't want to marry me and he tells me so, whenever he feels it necessary." She sighed. " But such is the way of a man, I haven't given him a true heir and he hates me for it."

" Wouldn't a son carry the curse?"

"I truly don't know. My mother only had daughters and it is the same with my sisters. We don't know, for we've never faced it."

Sango suddenly looked to the right, "Did you hear something?"

Michi nodded and the two women eased back into the house.

"I'm going to get my weapon." Sango whispered, but paused at the rumpled blanket in front of the fire. "Kirara, get up." She pulled back the blanket was surprised that the demon-cat and kitsune weren't beneath it. "That's strange."

Michi re-appeared from the hallway holding a doll. "This is Tanaya's, I found it on floor, which isn't too odd because she sneaks out some nights, but I have bad feeling."

Sango agreed. "Kirara and Shippou are gone as well."

"I suppose they could be playing follow the leader." Michi sarcastically snipped, rubbing her temple.

"I doubt it."

"Oh, me too."

* * *

Inuyasha opened his eyes, as a sense of dread filled him. He glanced to the right and left before noticing that the candle had gone out. He narrowed his eyes, squinting his dark eyes forcing them to focus and realized that the candle had been cut in half. He glanced down at Kagome, who was opening her eyes as well. Moving as slowly as possible he leaned down towards Kagome. "Someone's here. The candle's been cut."

Kagome nodded and whispered back. "I can sense a jewel shard."

" Great." Inuyasha growled sarcastically, before asking, "Can you see it?"

Kagome started to sit up, but Inuyasha held her down and shook his head.

"I want whoever it is to think we're still half-asleep." His breath tickled her ear.

She nodded and shifted her shoulder as if trying to get more comfortable as her eyes scanned the room. Suddenly a weapon came sailing into her view, "Inuyasha!" She screamed as she realized how fast it was coming at them.

Inuyasha had already heard the incoming attack even human he had the skills of a warrior. He shifted himself over Kagome and cried out in pain as the sickle-like weapon tore deep into his skin. He felt himself be pushed aside and heard Kagome's pained screech, before the darkness overtook him.

* * *

Miroku put his hands on his hips and glared at his Shakujou, which mockingly pointed towards the hawk-demon's temple. He didn't want to slay this demon. What he wanted was to exact his vengeance on Ryu. Still, he knew better than to go off blindly and attack a human. Killing demons was one thing, but killing humans was an entirely different thing. He looked at his hands, still clean of human blood. Damn logical thinking. He didn't want to consider the consequences of his actions at the moment. He looked at both sides of the path and stepped away from his staff. He took five steps before Michi's voice rang in his ears.

"_Don't fight for me. These hands of yours are still clean, of blood at least. Don't change that for me. Respect your uncle, my father and his decision; I will survive Ryu." _

He sighed; she'd told him that as she treated his face from the punch he'd received from his cousin-in-law after the disrespect he'd shown his uncle, by announcing that he was throwing a pearl to swine by allowing this marriage. Michi had caught his arm before he could return the favor and led him away. He had been barely thirteen, but he knew how ridiculous this marriage would be.

"Damn him. I'll kill his body than damn his soul to hell for what he's put her through... but not tonight." Miroku ground his teeth together before picking up his shakujou and stalking towards the temple. He slowed his pace and crept around the outside of the temple before rushing up the stairs and kicking down the door.

The man-beast looked up surprised at the interruption and glanced at Miroku before snorting, unimpressed by the monk. He rose to his feet and spread his wings preparing to take flight.

Miroku glanced up and realized that the demon had enough space to fly in this temple. _'Of course, you're a demon that flies, why wouldn't the ceiling of your temple allow you to.'_ He steadied himself and planted his feet preparing for the demon's first move.

The hawk-demon snorted again, "You are of the family of that damaged priestess who feeds me."

"Yes, I am and I have come to kill you."

" Pitiful monk, do you think you can defeat me with your sutras? I have drank the blood of a priestess and no matter how dirty she is, her blood allows me immunity to such things."

An unusually cruel smile passed over his lips."Who said anything about sutras?" Miroku launched his staff at the demon. It hit its mark embedding itself in the shoulder of the demon.

The demon tried to take flight, but the staff's power held him earthbound. The human-like face of the demon contorted into a sneer as he ripped the staff from his shoulder and dropped it to the ground. Dark blood oozed from the open hole in the demon's shoulder as he rasped. "Stupid monk, I will eat you alive, than kill that no good priestess-wench and her child." The demon took flight, angling himself away from Miroku to pick up speed for his attack.

Miroku slowly removed the prayer beads from his hand and opened the wind tunnel aiming at the demon.

The hawk-demon lurched backwards, the powerful rush of air drawing him in. Wings flapped harder trying to get away from the air, but the demon lost more ground to the monk's power. The tips of the demon's wings entered the void and a dread coldness filled the heart of the beast. Further and further in went the powerful wings that had carried him over hill and valley, than the demon remembered the sword on his hip. The creature unsheathed the sword and arched it towards the monk.

Miroku kicked the sword away from the demon as he jumped back and closed the wind tunnel.

The demon flopped to the ground screeching like a wounded animal and swiping blindly at the monk, who had taken all but the bases of his wings.

Miroku watched the hawk-demon flail on the ground as he retrieved his shakujou. As he strode back to the demon he growled, "My cousin is an honorable woman."

The hawk-demon spit out a mouthful of blood and announced. "That stupid priestess-wench fed me to protect the people of her village, but I only wanted her blood. The damn bitch is ugly and stupid to trust me and she shakes when cuts her own arm."

Miroku thrust the staff against the hawk-demon's forehead, stunning the creature. "Her name is Michi and you are dead, Demon. Go back to Hell!" Miroku leapt back from the demon and sucked it into the wind tunnel. He re-wrapped the prayer beads and spit on the ground where the demon's body had lain.

* * *

Kagome struggled for breath and bit her lip trying to ignore the blinding pain of her side as she crawled across the room. The attacker, whoever it was had stopped after the first terrible blow and seemed to be waiting for his or her preys next move. Inuyasha was unconscious, blood pouring from his open wound as he struggled for breath. _'Don't think about it. Find a weapon.'_ Her fingers brushed over Sango's hiraikotsu, _'No, one I can actually use.'_ She reached blindly in the dark for her bow and arrows, silently berating herself for letting her guard down so completely.

'_A Jewel shard! It's right in front of me. Oh no...'_ She looked directly in front of her and saw feet, black covered feet, like Sango's but too small. _'Crap!'_ She dared to glance up into the soulless brown eyes of Kohaku, who was raising his weapon to finish her.

" Goodnight." He bid her.

Kagome watched the weapon begin to descend and tried to figure out which way she should roll; but would it even matter? She rolled right and felt metal tear the flesh of her thigh. She screamed in pain and tried to pull Sango's heavy weapon down to use it as a shield.

Kohaku was walking towards her again, his slow, steady steps coming closer. Kagome dared peeked over the hiraikotsu to see how close her executioner was, when Sango burst into the room and tackled her younger brother.

" Kagome, throw me my sword, its on my hiraikotsu." Sango yelled trying to keep Kohaku pinned to the ground.

Kagome felt along the weapon, desperately seeking the sword. Finally her fingers brushed over the cool leather of the sheath. "Got it! Here!" Kagome couldn't believe how weak her voice sounded. Thankfully, her throw was far enough to get the sword to where it needed to be.

Sango reached up for the sword, forgetting her brother's reflexes and as she grabbed the sheathed sword, Kohaku slammed into her. The air exploded from her lungs and her gasped to reclaim her breath.

Kohaku was faster than she was, the sacred jewel shard in his back had increased all of his skills, and his weapon slashed towards her.

Sango wasn't known as the best demon slayer for nothing and she managed to get her arm and sword up in time to block the blade from marring her chest. Her sword had taken the brunt of the attack, and she ignored whatever pain there was to feel and countered her brother's next attack.

" Kohaku, please, don't do this. I'm Sango, your sister. You know me, remember, please!" She cried out as she blocked every blow, but never went on the offensive.

* * *

Michi pounded against the shield that held her in the main room of the house. She cursed and tried to break it with every chant and prayer she could remember, but nothing worked. She started pacing unable to sit still for the battle sounds that were coming from the other side of her home. "Damn you, whoever you are for holding me here! Come show yourself!"

"As you wish little, Michi."

The deep voice that answered brought Michi to her knees in horror. Her mouth formed words, but no sound passed over her lips.

Naraku glided over to where Michi had fallen and picked up Tanaya's broken doll. "Such a shame. I'll have to fix it for the child, when I find her again."

Michi looked up terrified, "What have you done to my daughter?"

"I merely gave her gift, but that little bird just won't quit running away." Naraku gripped her arm and forced her to stand. "Now then, we have a certain offer to discuss."

" Offer?"

"Yes, it's a little old, but I insist you make good on it."

Michi's face paled as she realized what he meant. "But my daughter...she..."

" Don't worry about your child. She isn't really your concern anymore." Naraku lifted Michi's hand up to inspect it. "It seems that I was careless when I worded that curse, but no matter." He touched her fingers and chuckled softly. "My, my those fingers are cold. That generational curse must be right under your skin, I think I'll see how strong it is." He raised her up by only her right wrist.

Michi cried out in anguish as she struggled in Naraku's hold.

Kohaku entered the room dragging an unconscious Sango. "I have brought her as you wished, Master Naraku."

"Very good Kohaku, now tie her up in the corner in case she awakens." Naraku turned back to the whimpering Michi. "You are quite afraid aren't you? Don't like demons?"

" Naraku! Put her down, now!" Miroku stood inside the doorway of the house.

"Or you'll what monk? If you notice, I'm holding your dear cousin and I don't think that wind tunnel of yours will differentiate between us. But try it if you dare."

"I don't need my wind tunnel to defeat you." Miroku stood ready with his shakujou. "Just put her down she has nothing to do with this."

Naraku touched Michi's cheek with his free hand and laughed again. "I disagree monk, for she is exactly what this is about. I made an error when I worded my curse, an error I will now rectify." The nail that had been resting on Michi's cheek grew longer and sharper, drawing a tiny line of blood across Michi's cheek. He lowered her and thrust the nail through the palm of her right hand.

Michi screamed in agony as the hole spread out from the point of entry.

Miroku stood helpless, stunned, and unable to act as Naraku ripped open the curse in Michi. He couldn't do anything; couldn't save her. If only there was a way. He watched in horror as one of poison insects crawled up Naraku and closer to the hole in Michi's hand. "No! You will not do this!"

* * *

Sango lifted up her head at the sound of a woman's scream. She blinked trying to pull herself back to reality. Her vision was still blurry, but she could make out the room and people in it. Kohaku was standing next to her; Naraku was in front of her holding Michi, by the wrist; and Miroku...when had he returned? He was yelling at Naraku, was he going to fight Naraku alone?

She shifted her shoulders and managed to turn her wrist enough to slip it out of the ropes that held her; Kohaku never had been good at tying knots. She stood to her feet as Miroku began to chant. She struck Kohaku from behind, knocking him unconscious. She carefully caught him before he fell completely and laid him silently on the ground.

Miroku's voice changed, the language he was using was no longer one that Sango recognized. The dark light that was exploding from Michi's right hand was covered with a blinding white energy. Naraku's grip on the woman was faltering, as he attempting to keep his skin away from the light. Sango grabbed her brother's weapon and spun it in her hand assuring herself that she wouldn't miss.

Suddenly, another blinding light poured into the room; dawn had broken over the horizon. Inuyasha's enraged voice was heard over Miroku's chanting and the din of the warring energies. The hanyou tore into the room with murderous intent, welding the already transformed Tetsusaiga, but he stopped at the sight of the conflicting energies. His ears flicked back and a deep warning growl came from the back of his throat.

Miasma flooded the room; the fighters, save Miroku, covered their faces to avoid breathing in the poison. Naraku threw Michi away from him and he and Kohaku vanished into the mists.

Miroku wavered on his feet; his face had gone pale and the energy that had been sizzling around the monk had dissipated with the miasma. Sango walked over to make sure he was all right and he collapsed against her, his breath coming in shallow gasps.

Inuyasha helped Michi to her feet, "You okay?"

Michi nodded numbly and held her palm up for him to inspect; besides the tiny scar in the center it was perfect. "He... He sealed it." She whispered astonished.

Inuyasha acknowledged with a nod her than asked, "Michi, can you help Kagome? She's hurt."

Michi started to follow him, when she turned to Sango, "Please take care of him. I'll be right back." She took another two steps when she froze, "Oh gods! Naraku, he... He said that he'd done something to Tanaya."

"I'll get her." Inuyasha grunted and started towards the door, when Kirara thumped through the doorway carrying Tanaya and Shippou.

The fire-cat trotted up to Inuyasha, and laid the unconscious kitsune at the hanyou's feet.

Michi grabbed Tanaya from the Kirara's back and held her tightly.

"No, Mommy, I'm not hurt. Shippou's hurt, the bird bit him." Tanaya tried to pull away from her mother and help the kitsune.

Inuyasha knelt down and sniffed Shippou's body. "He'll be okay. Just a scratch."

Michi wouldn't release her grip on her daughter. She started to cry as she checked to see if Tanaya was all right.

" Mommy, why are you crying? I'm okay, Mommy." Tanaya tried to calm her nearly hysterical mother.

Michi was trying to get a hold of herself, knowing that she was needed.

Inuyasha placed his hand on her shoulder. "Just stay with her for a bit. Me and Sango can handle it for a while."

" Thank you." Gratitude flooded the weary woman's features and she held her daughter; hugging and kissing Tanaya to assure herself that her daughter was real and in her arms.

* * *

**Original Reviewer Responses:**

**Review Responses:**

**Araki-chan: **You're very welcome for the fluffy scene. I had a lot of fun writing it...it gave me a great idea to use later, but it'll keep until I get a plot to wrap around it. Thank you so much for review and saying that you like to Michi, I really wanted her to be a believable and realistic character.

**Nuklear Firefly: **Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I wasn't happy with the next scene, yet and I wanted to get it right. I'm so glad you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing and telling me so!! I'm also really glad you liked the story-part; it took me forever to get it just right...had to think like the monk...hmm interesting all in itself. But yeah I see him as such a good dad...can you imagine him with daughters??? – He'd never let them out of the house for fear of others like him.

**Coherentidiot: **See Tanaya's fine. I wouldn't have let her get hurt. I'm so glad you liked the scenes with the couples...they were a blast to write...side note: I wanna play that game that Inuyasha and Kagome too, but I need to find someone to play with. I'm glad you liked the extra feature, yeah, I did sorta make it up on my own. See I just kinda (though REALLY loosely) parodied the show...I was trying to 'be the monk'

**xX Iron-Reaver Xx: **

_Muse: _Goober!! Goober!!!

_Tashana_: squashes the muse Now that's enough of that, thank you! Sorry we're kinda arguing about the ending of this story

_Muse _Laughs:...Happy Happy cliché!!!!

_Tashana_: growls No, we will be real!! Anyways:

Thanks for the great review as always, I so appreciate the time you take with these! Yeah I noticed you had the fic up on your site, looks great!!

So glad you enjoyed the storytelling part!! And yes you were right, though loosely based that was where I got the idea!! (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") Dancing Kirbies for you for being so observant!!!

Ah, yes I so enjoyed writing up that little moment for Miroku and Sango. I so have plans for that conversation, later, but I must find a plot to go with it...but yeah I even thought it was pretty cool. I'm so glad you liked it thanks for making mention of it in your review!!

Again thank you for your comments about Michi, I was really worried she was gonna be a perfect character, but I just tried to make her as real as possible. She is a bit of a secret keeper, but that's part of her charm

Glad I could answer that question for ya!!! Hope you liked this chapter as much as the others!! Thanks for your great reviews!! E-mail me if you've got any questions!!!

**Hikari: **(")( ") (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") dancing Kirbies for you for drawing that awesome pic for me!!! I love it!!! I'm so glad you liked the last chapter I hope this one was as good. Thank you so much for the review, e-mail and the PIC!!! Thanks again!!!

**Jaid Skywalker:** Thanks for the e-mail sweetie (thinking on that I think I owe you one?)! And for the review!! I'm so glad you're liking the story, I hope you continue to enjoy it as I continue writing it!!!

**Kaylana: **Okay, well this wasn't so much of a cliffhanger...I hope you liked it. And I hope you've been enjoying the fic so far. Thanks for taking the time to review!!!

**Pizza is Cheesy:** Well I hope your finger aren't as tired this time J/k Anyways, thank you so much for taking the time to review my fic, I hope that you liked this chapter!! Thanks again and I'm so glad you've been enjoying the fic so far!!


	9. pt8

**

* * *

Authoress' Notes:** (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") Dancing Kirbies for everybody for being patient with me and not sending me death threats...I appreciate it; I scare easily. 

So this is the next part of my little tale, obviously... Now, I'm not so sure I like this part entirely, in fact all but two scenes I just about scraped, but my sanity won out...I think. I hope you enjoy it. I'm gonna hit 50 reviews!!! Finally!!! WOOHOO!!!

Now than I need to thank **Tyric Stinnet**, my little brother, for it was he that gave me the wonderful idea to have Miroku seal the wind tunnel in Michi's hand...I was gonna be evil and curse her too, but Tryic suggested the other...Wow. He's so awesome!!!¥

Thanks for the wonderful reviews...responses are at the bottom! Smiles - T.A.

**EDIT - In edit this got a little more attention with refining, but I think I'm the only one who can tell. **

* * *

**Family Ties: Part 8**

* * *

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome, than at Shippou; Michi had already tended their wounds. Kagome was sleeping deeply due to the medicine that Michi had given her, while the kitsune was just unconscious again. Demon healing worked much better if the injured one was sleeping; thinking on that he knew he should probably catch some sleep himself. He looked down at his left hand, the fingers of which were still entwined with Kagome's. She'd been in so much pain before Michi had given her the medicine. The tears in her eyes had easily persuaded him to hold her hand. Stupid wench and her stupid tears, he couldn't fight them and she knew it.

He detached himself from Kagome's grip and paced across the floor. What the hell did Naraku want with them; now. Why now, and why the hell here? It didn't make any sense. Why would he go after the damn kid?

He looked down at Shippou and sniffed at the kitsune, just to make sure he wasn't any more hurt then they'd originally thought. He didn't want the brat to be hurt. Shippou annoyed him, but he was the only one who could pound the shit out of him. He'd gotten the full story from Kirara and almost hadn't believed it.

According to the demon-cat, she and Shippou had both woken up during the night and discovered that Tanaya had gone off into the woods. The two had followed her scent and also picked up on an abyssal-crow right in the child's path.

Inuyasha snorted. Abyssal-crows were nasty demons; they could steal powers from other creatures. Which made him wonder, why wasn't Shippou the creature's target? Kitsunes were full of power and energy, which made them the usual prey of the abyssal-crow, but this one had been after Tanaya, not Shippou.

Kirara had told him that the bird had been faking a broken wing and Tanaya being the type of kid she was, was trying to help it. The bird suddenly turned and lashed out to catch the little girl in its teeth, but Shippou had gotten in the way of the attack.

Inuyasha really didn't understand that, Shippou had survival instincts to rival any of them; why the hell had he taken that attack?

The bird had latched onto Shippou's tail, and starting drawing power out of him, but Shippou had retaliated with his foxfire. The bird being more surprised than anything had released its grip and in typical Shippou fashion, the kitsune had fallen against a rock and knocked himself out.

Inuyasha was begrudgingly proud of Shippou and worried about the group. He came to the realization that these people were his pack. Kagome would have gone all mushy and called them his family. But it was more than that; these were his friends, his chosen pack. He was strongest of them and that made him their leader. That's why he was so overprotective of them; they were _his_ pack.

Michi came into the room and looked up him wearily. "How are you?"

"Feh, I'm fine." He crossed his arms over his chest. "How's Miroku and Sango?"

" Miroku still hasn't woken up. I honestly don't know what's wrong with him. There isn't really a mark on him. I can't figure out if he breathed in the poison or if he's drained of energy." Michi sighed and knelt down to examine Kagome's wounds. "Sango's wounds aren't bad, but she's been very quiet, almost numb."

"The boy that was with Naraku is her brother."

"I see; that would be difficult to deal with. It is strange that a demon slayer would join a demon."

"He didn't have a choice. Technically, he's dead." Inuyasha flopped down in between Kagome and Shippou. "Kohaku died, but Naraku brought him back with a jewel shard. Now Kohaku's just a puppet that Naraku uses to screw with Sango's head."

"I can't even imagine what that does to the poor girl." Michi lifted the bandage on Kagome's thigh and wrinkled her nose.

"She okay?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. It's just a little deeper than I thought before. I'll give it until tonight, than I may have to sew it up." Michi bit her lip as she weighed her options, before allowing a slight smirk to cross her features. "Now then, shall I have a look at you?"

" Haven't you already?" He grumbled.

"I suppose, you're right." Michi covered her mouth and suppressed her laughter. "That does remind me, I was going to talk to you about something..."

"Look you didn't smell like a man at all I was just trying to figure out why, okay?!? Jeeze, I didn't mean anything by it." He huffed.

Michi blinked, "Oh yes, that, I figured as much. What I was going to ask you was: why were you human last night?"

Inuyasha muttered, "It happens every new moon, when the sun rises I revert back."

"Oh I see." She rose to her feet. "I'm going to go check on my cousin again, before I head out to the fields. Is there anything you need?"

" Peace and quiet." He huffed.

"As you will." Michi bowed and left the room.

Inuyasha folded his arms and rested his chin on his chest. He wanted to get some sleep, before anything else happened.

* * *

Sango blinked, while trying to keep her eyes open, she was so exhausted from everything. Her fingers absent-mindedly rubbed the bandage on her arm. She watched Miroku sleep and brushed a stray hair away from his face. He looked so serene, but what if something was wrong with him that they didn't realize. He hadn't stirred since fell against her after the fight with Naraku. He'd hit her with the weight of a dead body, but he was breathing then just as he was now: in soft shallow breathes.

When Inuyasha had asked if he was really knocked out, Sango had joked that he had to be; he'd landed on her chest and hadn't tried anything.

Now Kagome and Shippou were under the watchful eye of Inuyasha, while she took care of Miroku. Kirara was trailing behind Tanaya, just in case Naraku tried to get her again. Michi hadn't stopped moving since the whole incident had occurred. She went from helping them to working in the fields. Sango was grateful to be watching the sleeping monk; she didn't feel like talking.

'_Kohaku, why can't I save you? I was supposed to take care of you. I'm your older sister, that's my job.' _

"Any change?" Michi's voice had startled Sango out of her thoughts.

"You need to wear a bell." Sango sighed and looked up at the woman. " No, he hasn't moved."

"I tried putting a bell on him once." Michi thoughtfully remembered.

"What happened?"

"He held it still when he walked." She smirked.

Sango groaned and lightly slapped her forehead. "Figures."

Michi nodded and started crushing some herbs in a stone bowl. "How are you feeling?"

Sango looked at her arm. "It's only a small cut. I've had much worse."

"I wasn't talking about your arm." Sympathy flooded Michi's features as she spoke to Sango. "Inuyasha told me about your brother. I am sorry."

Sango looked down at the ground. "It isn't him really, but I just can't bring myself to hurt him."

" Understandable." Michi continued preparing the herbs. "Thank you, for having Kirara follow Tanaya around. It makes me feel a lot calmer."

"It isn't a problem." Sango looked at the sleeping monk, than back Michi. "What are you preparing?"

"It's a type of ward." Michi dropped a few leaves into the mix and smoke puffed up from the bowl. "Well that's not supposed to happen." Michi poked her finger into the bowl and pulled it back out quickly. "_Ouch._ That would not be the correct mix. I'll be right back."

Sango chuckled as Michi carried the bowl and basket out of the room. She rubbed her fingers back over the bandage. "There's another scar for my record." She sighed and rested her head near Miroku's. " When I wake up, you had better be trying something." She threatened the monk, before closing her eyes and whispering. "Please, just wake up. I don't want to lose anyone else."

* * *

_:Begin Flashback:_

"_I thought I'd find you here." Michi settled down next to him, her brown eyes full of laughter._

_"How can you smile? He's practically selling you. You're a wonderful priestess, and he's wasting that." Miroku rubbed the side of his face._

"_Here, let me look at the that bruise." Michi tried to turn his face towards her, but he knocked her hand away._

"_Stop it, you're not my parent."_

_Michi winced and sighed. "What's really bothering you, Love?"_

"_You're going to be so far away." He huffed. " I'm not used to that." _

"_Time changes everything. Look at you, a year ago; you'd have thrown a child's fit over this. Now you're just moody." She smirked._

_Miroku half-heartedly slapped her arm. "Of course, just pick on me. You realize you're leaving me alone with Moushin. I'm very impressionable, you know. I'll be drinking myself to death the day after you leave." He sighed dramatically._

"_You start that and I'll beat you to death with my broom. You're better than that. Besides, you're going to start traveling soon and gentlemen do not drink like that." She tapped the end of his nose._

"_I'm a gentleman now?"_

"_You'd better be. I thought I'd beaten that into you."_

_Miroku made a face, as if he was strongly considering her point than laughed. "No, I think tradition will out weigh your training. Besides, I'll need an heir, in case I fail."_

"_One you won't fail and two with an attitude like that; what do you plan to do? Walk up to every girl and request her to bear your child?"_

"_Only the pretty ones."_

"_Ah." Michi whapped the back of his head, "I **know** I taught you better than that."_

"_I **was** joking."_

"_You had better be or you may lose your soul-mate." Michi raised her nose up in the air._

"_Is that possible? I thought I'd known her when I saw her."_

"_I never said that. I told you if you lost her you'd never be the same."_

_Miroku narrowed his eyebrows at his cousin, "Now, you're going have to try to see her again."_

"_You're so impatient sometimes, just like a child. You're going to have to learn some measure of control before you start traveling." Michi laughed._

"_Don't change the subject."_

"_Well I suppose I should have a look. I won't be able to do it anymore, after I'm married." Her voice got quiet as the last words left her mouth. "I never thought about that before."_

"_I can talk to your father again."_

"_Oh and let's Uta's husband give you a matching set of bruises? I don't think so."_

"_Do you really think you're ready to be someone's wife?"_

"_Yes dear." Michi responded sarcastically, " See there, that's all I really need to know, right?"_

"_I guess." Miroku scuffed his foot on the ground. "I want a wife that I can respect. One I can talk to, like this."_

"_You're going to have to find someone with a lot of spirit." Michi half-heartedly warned._

"_That could have advantages." He flashed a perverted smile._

_Michi hit him in the back of the head again, "You and that mind of yours. Right down into the dirt. Come on, we'll walk down to the waterfall and I'll throw you in."_

"_I don't know why you people think throwing me under hard falling water will bring my purity back."_

"_No, you see we're hoping it may return a bit of clarity to that muddled brain of yours." Michi stood to her feet and stretched her arms over her head._

"_Hasn't worked so far." Miroku argued as he started following behind her._

"_We're hoping for a miracle."_

_Miroku picked up a stick and threw it at Michi, hitting her between the shoulder blades._

"_That's mature." Michi commented dryly without turning around to look at him._

"_I learned from the best." He laughed._

"_Oh thank you, Love." She smirked and continued down the path._

"_You aren't really going to throw me into the waterfall, are you?"_

"_No, I found the most beautiful reflecting pool last time we were down there. The water's the clearest I've ever found, it should be easier to see in it." Michi explained kicking off her shoes and picking them up._

"_Deeming this hallowed grounds?"_

"_It is to me."_

_Miroku took off his shoes as well and followed his cousin until they reached a small plateau over looking the waterfall. _

_Michi knelt down on one side of the small water pool and motioned for him to sit across from her. She took out her bag of herbs and shifted through it until she found what she was looking for. She laid out the dried plants on one side, than gathered a few sticks and made a small pile. "Here light that." She motioned to the sticks._

_Miroku found his flint rocks and snapped them together a few times, before he finally got enough of a spark to light a small fire. "I never understood this part."_

"_That's because you can't do it. You've always learned best by application." Michi put a few larger sticks on the fire, to keep it burning, while she prepared three small sticks by wrapping small vines around them. "Okay, now touch just ends."_

_Miroku obliged her and tapped the ends of all of the sticks._

_Michi took them in her hands and let her eyes fall closed as she focused on what she wanted to know. One by one she lit each of the sticks, let them burn down to the point that they almost brunt her fingers, than blew out the flames and dropped them into the pool. She spread the herbs over the water and breathed in and out deeply allowing the smoke to penetrate her senses._

_Miroku cocked his head to the side, watching her with curious eyes. He never quite grasped how this worked, but he trusted Michi._

_Michi finally opened her eyes slowly and looked into the pool. "There's demon... it's Naraku! He's gotten to her, but hasn't killed her. You won't recognize her at first sight. You won't realize who she is, until it's almost too late."_

"_That's encouraging."_

"_She'll be so wounded, and you won't realize that she needs you. You'll be sleeping."_

_**A white light flashed brightly, illuminating the whole area, when it died down, the area had changed; in fact it was an entirely different place, at a different time.**_

"_Here you are, sleeping again." Michi's voice called out._

_Miroku opened his eyes. "I was only resting." _

"_You're going to sleep your life away, if you don't wake up."_

"_I am awake." He insisted._

"_Are you?"_

"_Is this some new theory you've come across in your readings?"_

"_No, it's just a question. Do you know; if you're really awake?"_

"_You aren't making any sense."_

"_Well see; won't we?" Michi looked sadly up at the sky._

_The field suddenly became dark and storm clouds rolled across the sun. "What's going on?"_

"_You tell me."_

_:End Flashback:_

* * *

"Good morning." Michi's voice beckoned.

Sango yawned and blinked as she woke up. "Good morning?" Her voice sounded groggier then she would have liked. "How long was I asleep?"

"A while, the sun's almost down." Michi explained.

Sango looked at Miroku expectantly, but found that he was still sleeping. " Has he woken up yet?"

"No, he's stirred a bit, as if he was dreaming, but he didn't wake." Michi took a long stick from her sleeve and lit it from the candle on the floor. She lit each of the four bowl and the ends of Miroku's bed.

"Are those the wards, you were working on?" Sango asked.

"Yes, I don't know what else to do for him, but keep the demons away." Michi sadly shook her head and let a single tear slide down her face.

"What the hell is that shit? It stinks!" Inuyasha complained from the doorway, with one hand clamped hard over his nose.

" Well, at least you know it works." Sango stood on shaky legs and smiled at the grumpy hanyou.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, but I don't know what else to do besides this."

"It ain't like you don't have any protection from demons! Ya got me here! It ain't like I'm gonna let anything hurt 'im." Inuyasha snorted and looked at Michi before continuing. "But of it makes you feel better, just leave it. But come out into the other room, so we can figure some stuff out."

Michi bowed her head to Inuyasha and kissed Miroku's forehead before following the hanyou out into the other room.

Sango arched her eyebrow in confusion. Why was Inuyasha being so polite, without Kagome hovering over his shoulder threatening a 'sit'? She walked out behind the others wondering what Inuyasha was so anxious to talk about.

"How are Kagome and Shippou doing?" Sango asked.

" Shippou's outside playing with Tanaya and Kirara. Kagome was awake for a bit, she even ate a little, before she went back to sleep. She lost a lot of blood from those two wounds." Michi poured a bowl of soup and offered it to Sango.

" Thank you. Has everyone else eaten?" Sango wondered.

" Yeah, we were waiting for you, but you wouldn't wake up. Gods, you've been sleepin' since noon." Inuyasha grunted and accepted a cup of sake from Michi, with a nod.

"So what are we trying to figure out?" Sango sipped a bit of the soup grateful for the warm food.

Inuyasha motioned to the outside of the house."A lot, but starting with, what did that crow want with Tanaya? I mean, she's only human; isn't she?"

Michi looked up from her cup and afforded Inuyasha a mild scowl."My family has a strong bloodline."

"That don't explain nothing! Abyssal-crows, like energy and power they steal it out of their victims. But that crow didn't want anything to do with Shippou; it drew out Tanaya for its meal. I don't care how strong your bloodline is; no abyssal-crow is gonna choose a human child over a kitsune." Inuyasha huffed and folded his arms over his chest.

"Are you sure that Tanaya was the target?" Sango questioned.

" That's what Kirara told me." Inuyasha shrugged.

" Maybe Naraku directed the crow?" Sango offered.

Inuyasha leaned forward and narrowed his eyebrows at Sango. "You ever seen a crow demon that would take orders?"

"No, I haven't." Sango admitted and looked at Michi. "You must agree that it is rather strange."

"As far as I'm concerned the crow was after her power." Michi clenched and unclenched her right hand.

"But she's only human." Inuyasha insisted.

" Listen, why do you think some sutras work and some don't? It's the writer that determines it, their power, strength, courage, or purity of intention. It's the writer's power that what determines the power of sutras."

"But priests and monk are just trained humans." Inuyasha argued.

"You really think that it's the title that grants them their power? Yes, they are only humans, but they can tap into or use powers. It's something they're born with, just like demons."

"But demons draw on evil." Sango countered.

"Not all demons. Some use their power help. I prefer to think of power as a tool in the hand of the user. It is for them to decide how it will be governed. It's like a flame. A normal human's power is like a candle, where as a priest or monk or demon is like a torch or a campfire. It burns stronger, with more potential to do harm or to do good."

" Where do you come up with this stuff?!?" Inuyasha hollered.

" Reading, lots and lots of reading." Michi sighed.

"It makes sense though, I guess." Sango bit her lip. "Would that explain how Houshi-sama closed the wind-tunnel in your hand?"

" Maybe, but I've never seen him generate that kind of raw power." Michi laid her hands on the table. "In my family, the older we get, the more we train; the more our power comes from knowledge and not within ourselves. The young ones in our family have a store of raw energy, which they can use to defend themselves. Otherwise, as children they'd be an easy target for demons to kill, before they had the learned skills to defeat them."

"How the hell does that work?"

"My great-great-great grandmother determined it to work that way. She cursed her own family, to protect her children." Michi pulled her hands to her chest. "I can understand why she did it. You feel so helpless as a parent. You want to protect your children from everything, but you know you can't. You know you could even die trying and still fail. It's hard to live and I guess this was her way of fighting it."

"So you've never seen Houshi-sama use this kind of power?"

"No, in fact..." The door of the house swung open and Tanaya came running in with Shippou and Kirara hot on her heels. "What is it, Angel?"

" Father is coming." Tanaya sounded terrified as she buried herself in her mother's arms.

" Don't worry. You'll be just fine." Michi kissed her daughter's head and shooed her off, "Just take Shippou and Kirara to your room. I'll call you, when it's safe." Michi stood up and squared her shoulders. "You two should go check on the others; make sure they're alright."

Inuyasha arched his eyebrow, "Why are you trying to get rid of us?"

"I just need to talk with my husband." Michi's voice was subdued and quiet.

Inuyasha looked at Michi, the woman's eyes were sad, but there wasn't any fear in them. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to leave her the tiny bit of dignity she had left.

"Come on Sango, the monk's probably awake and chocking to death from the smoke and Kagome's probably whining already." He huffed and the two started down the hallway. _'I can smell that man from here. Gods, he reeks of something familiar, but I can't place it.'_

**

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**Original Reviewer Responses:**

**Review Responses:**

**Nuklear Firefly: **Thank you, thank you. I'm so glad you liked the action sequences so much. Oh yeah, Miroku with sons, definitely. Now can't you see him handing out his 'wonderful' advise and Sango behind him mouthing to their son "NO."

**Coherentidiot: **Goddess? Me? I don't know about that exactly, but let me tell you that is one of the coolest analogies I have ever heard for a writer! Go you! Very creative!

Thanks so much for the really awesome review! Yeah, Michi does lecture, but she's kinda the older sibling, she tends to do that on autopilot (I'm a big sister too, so trust me...we don't think about it sometimes...mostly because we're only trying to help). Thanks so much for being supportive. I'm so glad you like this story! Thanks for reviewing!!

Lifts reviewer from her knees Be patient, fluffy scene come to those who wait.

Thanks for being so awesome!!! Thank you for the reviews, they are so encouraging!!

**xX Iron-Reaver Xx: **Authoress is sitting atop a pile of books, with the muse underneath She was trying to mess with my plot again....Anyways I so understand about the comp curses under her breath Technology isn't my best friend by any stretch of the imagination.

Michi's brain is always working, in fact she's one of the more vocal characters I've created and quite difficult to control....as for her plans for Miroku and Sango, well you'll see

Naraku is generally an #$###&# which makes him really nice as a villain, you love to hate him and he'll do things just to be cruel...well let's just say he's a sore loser...oops wasn't supposed to let that out.

Thank you so much for the wonderful review. I'm so glad you liked the action sequences. I didn't want them to overtake the story. Your comments were very encouraging, as always Thanks for being so detailed in your reviews, it's so helpful!!

**Hikari: **End?? Who said anything about the end? I still have 'demons' to slay in this story. Thank you so much for your wonderful specific review!! I love those!!

Hm...Forgot Inuyasha was human in the last chapter, I'll have to fix that when I clean up all the chapters....

I'm so glad you liked all the little details. I love adding stuff like that. As for Kohaku, I needed something to hold those pesky heroic people still, so I could get a one-on-one with Miroku and Naraku. Naraku?? Tanaya?? Hm...you'll have to wait and see

Anyways. Thank you. Thank you for review. I so appreciate all your comments they are so inspirational!!

**Jaid Skywalker: **Yes, Naraku bad. That's what makes him so delightful as a villain; you love to hate him. Thank you for the encouraging comments. I'm so glad you liked the action scenes. I was nervous about writing them. I hope you liked this next part! I so love your reviews! Thanks again!!

**Kaylana: **Now, why would you think he did something to Tanaya?? Hm...guess he does have a pretty lousy track record. But anyways thanks for reviewing the fic. I hope you like this next part! Thanks again for the review.

**Pizza is Cheesy:** Thanks for the reviews. I'm sorry you're having a run of bad luck...I hope things are looking better for ya! Thanks for your comments. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

**Saki**: Wow, thank you so much for your review. I'm so glad you like the story! It's so nice of you to say what you did. I really appreciate it. You are very kind. Thank you for your compliments and the review. I always love to here from people that read my work. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

**Blades of Ice**: Turns her head to the left slightly Spork?? Looks around nervously Um...should I be worried about bodily harm??

J/K I'm not that much of a fraidy cat! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! I hope you liked this one too. I hope its up par! Thank you so much for review. I so love you people that take the time to review it means a lot to me!

**Dreamseeker**: Okay love...watch what you give away about me. I'm so glad that you like the story. Glad you've finally got the Internet too. Thank you for you wonderful reviews. I appreciate you taking the time! Thank you so much!! Stay out of trouble!

**warriorGL**: Thank you so much for you thoughtful review. I appreciate all the time you put into it. I what you mean about m/s stories getting rushed. I love a mushy scene as well as the next girl, but I also like realism...So thank you for saying that you liked that part!!!

Wow gathers the points and hugs them I got points!! Does a little happy dance Oooo, they're even letter marked!! Happiness!!! I am so, so glad that you're enjoying this story. Thank you so much for the feedback, I'm sure you can tell that I'm thrilled by it!!! I so appreciate comments the most that tell me why the person liked it. It can be helpful in knowing what to look for or watch in my writing. Thank you again and again for your wonderful review. I hope you continue to enjoy this story as it goes.

**WildfireDreams**: Thank you so much for your review. Wow, everyone seems to really like Michi. I'm so glad!! Thank you for taking the time to review. Oh thanks for commenting on the story as well, I really liked writing that. I hope you like this part too!! Thanks again!!!


	10. pt9

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Authoress' Notes:** Wow you guys are so spoiled!! :-P j/k Anyways, so my muse bit me in the butt and would let me rest until I got this part written...which is a lot sooner than I thought I'd be updating, which the plan was for Friday of this week. Okay so this is the next part. It's a little shorter than the last few parts, but not by much. I think the first part's a little rushed, but when I tried to length it, it just got corny...So anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this!!!

Smiles - T.A.

**EDIT - Even after messing with this the end still seems rushed... oh well all mortals are doomed to imperfections. **

* * *

**Family Ties: Part 9**

* * *

Michi clenched and unclenched her right hand listlessly, more anxious than in fearful. She didn't hate the man nor did she fear him. The most he could do was ruin her body and by the gods he'd nearly completely that task already. The only thing she feared about him was that he could harm Tanaya, but she very much doubted he'd do that with guests in the house. The door swung open and Michi gasped.

" Makoto, you nearly scared the life from me." Michi complained to the farmer. "Tanaya thought you were Ryu."

"He is on his way here, Lady Michi. I saw him up the path a bit." The man bowed respectfully before his eyes glanced up at the gaping hole in the roof. "What happened to your roof, Milady?"

"A demon, Makoto, nothing for you to worry about. And I hardly think my husband needs to be announced in his own house."

"Oh no, Milady, I didn't come for that." The Makoto fidgeted with his hat before speaking again. "I came to tell you of the hawk-demon."

Michi looked up at him with concern. "He isn't attacking again is he?"

"No, Milady, it appears that he may have been slain."

" Makoto, whether or not a demon has been slain, tends to be quite clear."

" Milady, you must understand. We found a great amount of blood and feathers, but no body."

Michi bit her lip and looked thoughtful, "I suppose a bigger demon could have eaten him."

"My lady, do you really think such a thing is possible!?!" The man cried out in alarm.

"No, Makoto, I do not. Calm yourself, I was only teasing." She touched his arm reassuringly. "My cousin has come to visit me and he and his friends most likely took care of this demon for us."

"I should like to meet this cousin of your, Milady."

"You shouldn't bother, he's a bastard of monk, stupid and foolhardy." A voice came from the rear of the house. Ryu stepped out from the darker part of the house and glared at the older man. "Makoto, why don't you show yourself out?"

"Of course. Have a goodnight, my lord, my lady." Makoto bowed and quickly rushed from the house.

Ryu looked up at his roof. He ran a head through his jet-black hair and narrowed his angry brown eyes. "What in the seven Hells have you done to my house now, Wench?!?"

Michi took a deep breath and spoke softly. "My lord, we have guests in our house. Please do not raise..."

Ryu didn't allow Michi to finish her statement; he backhanded her with enough force to send her to the ground. "This is my house! And as for any guests, if it's only your bastard cousin and his worthless friends, why should I care?" He glared down at Michi and looked at her eyes, which flashed defiantly up at him. "You've never respected me."

"My lord, I have always shown you the proper respect." Michi countered.

"How is running around behind my back respecting me?!?" He growled pacing the floor hoping to intimidate her.

"My lord, I have never been unfaithful."

"You don't have to be." He spat, kicking dirt in her direction. " You always thought that you were something special. Well you're not! You're just a trained monkey. Women are not smart enough to do what you do! I tell you not to write or read and you continue to defy me!"

"My lord, my readings do not hurt you in any way. I serve as your wife, with nothing but the best of my abilities." Michi stood back up unable to sit down in the face of the verbal assault.

"You stupid, good for nothing wench; if you were so smart why couldn't you save my son?!? If you are so holy; why did you let him die!?! Was that your revenge! Was that your hatred exacted on me? Killing my son!?!" Ryu threw his arm toward her again, this time he balled his fist and struck her across the cheek.

Michi fell back against this floor, this time striking her head against on one of the beams of the house. She glared up her husband anger flashing in her features. "I would have never taken revenge on you by means of an innocent child. I did everything I could to save him. And as for my hatred, I never hated you. I've never felt anything for you; how could I hate you?" Michi shook her head in confusion, but her voice continued to be calm. "I didn't kill your son. Maybe it was your karma, for breaking you vow of marriage to me."

Ryu kicked her response, knocking the air out her lungs. "I will kill you! You..."

Inuyasha grabbed Ryu by the throat and lift him off the ground. "Leave her alone." He growled angrily.

"My lord!" Nia came running from somewhere in the house and looked at Inuyasha and Ryu in horror.

" Inuyasha, put him down, please." Michi bid the hanyou, as she stood on shaky legs.

Inuyasha folded back his ears, but dropped Ryu to the ground letting him hit with a hard thud.

Nia raced over to help Ryu to his feet. "My lord, are you alright?"

Ryu spit on the ground near Michi's feet. "Yes, I'm fine. Help me walk to town. I have no desire to be here, since my own house seems to be overrun by my own wife and her demons."

The two walked out of the house without another word and Michi and Inuyasha looked at one another.

"They smell like each other." Inuyasha said, cringing, expecting some loud, female response to the news.

"I know. I delivered their child one year past. A still born." Michi's eyes were vacant and cold. "I wouldn't risk my karma over him. I would have never let a baby die to punish him."

Inuyasha glanced at the woman, startled. "They had a child together? Don't you care?"

Michi looked up at Inuyasha, her eyes full of sorrow. "I wish I did, but it doesn't bother me. I'm glad for her, it keeps Ryu away from me."

"What the hell did he do to you? You're acting weird." Inuyasha sniffed the air near her.

A single tear slid down Michi's face and she wiped it away unconsciously. "He threatened to kill me, the night his son died. It was the only time he ever meant it. Ryu, was always cruel, but he liked to prolong suffering." Michi moved the shoulder of her kimono off, just enough to show Inuyasha the top of her scars. "They run all over my body, from shoulders to hips."

" How?"

"A whip. Truth be told, I'm surprised he didn't just have me killed." She shrugged and turned her head as she fixed her clothes.

" Mother." Tanaya came running from her room. "Is Father gone already?"

Michi picked up her daughter, "Yes, Inuyasha, scared him away for a bit. Now let's get you tucked into bed."

Tanaya looked over Michi's shoulder at Inuyasha, "Thank you."

Inuyasha grunted an affirmative and looked at the hole in the ceiling.

" Mother, is Miko awake yet?" Tanaya asked.

"No, little angel, I'm afraid he's still sleeping." Michi told her as they continued down the hallway.

"Can I try to wake him?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt."

* * *

_:Begin Flashback:_

_He turned fast and struck the target with enough force to shatter the top of it, sending it flying across the yard of temple._

"_That's very violent for a monk." Came the dry response of the older man on the temple's porch._

_Miroku's angry blue eyes glared at the teacher, as he wiped the sweat from his face. "How many bottles is that today?"_

_Moushin snorted and choose to ignore the impertinent response. "I take it your trip to Michi's wasn't a pleasant one."_

"_It was fine." Miroku took another swing at the target._

"_You aren't supposed to be violent, it not the way we..."_

"_It's not the way you do things. I'm not you, Moushin." Miroku took a deep breath than sighed heavily. " Besides, what I am I supposed to do when I face Naraku? I would like to stand some sort of chance against him."_

"_Your Grandfather never used such violent tactics. He always attacked with spiritual power and sutras."_

"_A lot of good it did him to, he got his whole line cursed." Miroku punched the target with his right fist. He hissed in pain and cradled his hand._

"_You need to learn patience. If you run off like this, you'll be killed before you've been gone a year." Moushin was humorless in his warning as he started to rise from his feet._

_Miroku looked at the high monk and held up his hand, "Whatever it is, let me get it."_

"_Oh, so you're going to get me another bottle?" Moushin questioned._

_Miroku shook his hand and nodded. "Sure, I could use a drink." _

_Miroku grabbed an older bottle of sake and brought it back to his teacher. After pouring two glasses he offered one to Moushin and kept the other for himself._

"_I'll only get the bottle later." Moushin informed._

"_It'll kill you, you know." Miroku responded darkly looking into the glass he was holding._

"_Don't worry about me."_

"_I have to."_

_Moushin looked at Miroku for a long moment. "Are you getting sentimental on me?"_

"_No." Miroku shook his head and glared at Moushin. "You, unfortunately, are the only one who can fix the wind tunnel. If it gets damaged, I'll need you alive."_

"_I thought I taught you respect." Moushin complained._

"_A student learns by what his teacher does, not by what his teacher says."_

"_Damn that Michi. I know she taught you that. I should have drown her, when I had the chance." Moushin's ranted, before sighing and looking over the forest. His eyes closed as if he were listening to something far away, than he looked back at Miroku. "So how is she handling marriage?"_

"_She's doing alright." Miroku folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against one of the beams. "The baby was a girl, Tanaya"_

"_Another female for that line." Moushin snorted, before noticing Miroku's peaceful expression. "And you're already asleep."_

_One blue eye opened, "Just resting my eyes."_

"_Of course."_

_**A white light flashed brightly, illuminating the whole area, when it died down, the area had changed; in fact it was an entirely different place, at a different time.**_

"_There you are sleeping again, my boy."_

_Miroku looked up his teacher and complained. " Can't I ever, rest? Just for moment?"_

"_You don't watch it and you'll sleep your whole life away." Moushin warned._

"_I'm not that lazy."_

"_I don't think you're lazy, you get in too much trouble for that." Moushin tapped Miroku's forehead with his staff. "You just don't know how much you sleep."_

"_Believe me, I'm perfectly aware how little sleep I get."_

"_Are you?"_

"_What are you talking about?" The sky grew dark as the clouds rolled over the sun and the wind whipped through the trees. "What's going on?"_

"_You tell me."_

_:End Flashback:_

* * *

His hand clenched and unclenched in pain the fresh burn on his hand continued to throb, but the pain was slowly ebbing away. Demon healing powers were very useful at times such as these. He let his mind wander over the new developments of the last day. He's lost one abyssal crow, thanks to the exterminator girl's demon-cat, and they weren't easy to catch. His hope had been for the crow to hold the girl long enough for him to return, but apparently it had gotten impatient. He had only himself to blame for the folly, he knew better than to trust lower creatures.

Think along the lines of lower creatures; the battle returned to his mind. That white energy that had burned his hand; where had it come from? Where had the monk gained that type of power? Why hadn't he used it before? Could he still use it? He knew he couldn't directly attack Inuyasha and the others until he had properly tested the monk from a safe distance. He was wasting his time here. He had wasted a great deal of time here for nothing. Rage burned in him as he thought about this.

His ears detected the sounds of laughter and he raised his head to see the two humans that were stumbling towards his position. He growled, disgust taking over him for a moment. "Kohaku, kill."

"Yes, Master Naraku."

* * *

**Original Reviewer Responses:**

**Review Responses:**

**Nuklear Firefly: **Thanks for the review. I hope you liked this chapter too!!

I will call him mini-Miroku!!! LOL! So cute. Yeah, poor Sango, if her son started acting like Miroku, but...it could be be their daughter.

**Coherentidiot: **Please, continue to be patient, fluffy scene come to those who wait. I know he's still asleep...oops... Thank you so much for the review. I'm so glad you like Michi!! I'm also glad that me updating this makes ya happy! I know Ryu kinda got off the hook, but he'll get his eventually. Thank you again for taking the time to review and as always, your very kind comments. Thank you.

**Hikari: **So glad I could cheer you up!! hugs back Your review cheered me up the same way Yeah, um so he's still sleeping....I promise all will be made clear...I think

That raw power conversation...GAH!! It took forever to write and edit...I'm so glad you like it and mentioned it in your review!!! Oh and the "Trying something" line I loved too!! Thanks for mentioning it, I was worried nobody would find it amusing!!

Thanks so much for reviewing!! I so appreciate the time to take to write to tell what you think!!

P.S. Take all the time you need for the pics...I don't want to rush genius and your welcome, although I think I'm as happy to get them as you are to draw them!!

**Jaid Skywalker**Thanks so much for the review. And mentioning which scene you like... the bell!! Again thanks for taking the time. Hope you enjoy the rest!

**Blades of Ice**: Grabs her brother's Chinese broad sword and holds it ready; poised to attack Okay bring it on!! I saw this thing work on cabbage, I'm sure it'll work on sporks!!!

Okay now seriously, Thanks so much for reviewing the fic!! Um...yeah...sorry he's still sleeping...um...He'll wake up, promise! Thank you so much for taking the time to write me. Thank you so much! I hope you continue to enjoy this!!!

**warriorGL**: Wow this: "i'd like to report thast your awsome writting skills have only made my day better (yup, reading another chapter of this is about the equal to getting a 110 on a test you'd thought you'd fail" So made my day!! I almost cried (good way) when I read it! Thank you so much for being so encouraging and inspirational.

The flashback...wait for it...look at the last flashback...oo do you see the connection???? Hypnotic voice Trust the authoress, all will become clear.

Okay enough of that. Thank you so much for the specific review, again. I adore these from you! You really let me know what you think!! Thank you for being so honest. I hope you continue to enjoy this story as it goes!!

**WildfireDreams**: Thanks for the review! I hope you continue to enjoy my tale!

**Sangotaijiya: **Thanks for bringing up what you liked in the story. I appreciate when people do that. I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Thanks for taking the time to review!!

**Hershey:** I hope you're doing okay...I mean took me almost a week to update. I hope you didn't pass out or anything.

Naraku, huh? Interesting theory, but Michi would kill me if I had done that to her....but...hm...interesting idea...maybe...never mind.

Anyways, thank you so much for taking time to review my story. I'm so glad you like it, I hope you continue to do so. Thanks for the compliments!!!


	11. pt10

**Authoress' Notes:** Wow** 14** reviews for one chapter?!?! You guys make me feel so loved!!! I'm so sorry this took longer than planned. Basically Monday and Tuesday merged into one never-ending day and I'm still worn out. Just to let you guys know I started a new job and the hours are gonna be hard to take for the first week or two, so please bear with me and stay patient if it takes me a while to update...

This chapter irked me too...I'm trying to set something up and I'm not liking how I'm getting there. It feels kinda sluggish to me, like it's dragging its 'feet' or something. So anyways, I really hope you like this chapter...it hasn't been edited nearly as well as the others, but I wanted to put this up so you guys aren't thrown off it takes me awhile to update. Please enjoy the chapter! Thank you so much for all your support! Review responses are at the bottom.

Smiles - T.A.

* * *

**Family Ties: Part 10**

* * *

Kagome lifted up her head and yawned as she slowly started waking up from her dreamless sleep. She looked around the room and winced as she shifted to sit up. "Ouch. That's still sore."

"Of course it is, stupid." Inuyasha barked from the other corner of the room. "Michi thought she was gonna have to sew it up, it was so deep." He stood up and stretched his arms over his head.

Kagome called out to Inuyasha. "Where are you going?"

"I was gonna get Michi. She'll want to check on you." He explained.

" Wait, tell me how everybody's doing. Miroku was still sleep last time I talked to you."

" Yeah, and you both slept through the whole night."

"He hasn't woken up yet? What's wrong with him?" Kagome asked concerned about her friend.

"We don't know. He just hasn't woken up yet."

" Kagome!" Shippou cried out joyously and tried to pounce on her, but Inuyasha caught his tail at the last moment.

" Watch it runt. She's still hurt." He growled before setting the kitsune on the ground.

Shippou stuck out his tongue at Inuyasha, than nuzzled into Kagome's left side. "I was so worried about you, Kagome."

" Don't worry, Shippou. I'm just fine. A little worse for ware, but nothing too bad." Kagome rubbed the top of his head then tugged gently on the end of his tail. "I hear someone was a hero."

Shippou blushed and scuffed the ground with his feet. "It wasn't a big deal. I was just there at the right time."

Kagome hugged him. "I'm very proud of you for saving Tanaya. It was a very brave thing to do."

"It was a very brave thing to do." Inuyasha mocked Kagome's tone.

Kagome's eyebrow arched, "Sit!"

Slam. Inuyasha's face planted against the floorboards of the house as Michi walked into the room.

"So that's what the rosary's for." She smirked as she carefully stepped over the grumbling Inuyasha. "How are you feeling, Kagome?"

" Better. That medicine sure made me sleepy, though." Kagome rubbed her eyes with one hand.

"It does tend to do that, but the advantage is that it does help heal faster." Michi knelt beside Kagome and checked both of the wounds. "They're healing pretty well. You should be able to travel in a few days."

" Days?!?" Inuyasha complained, "You've gotta be kidding me..." He stopped mid rant as Kagome's eyebrow started arching again. "I'm gonna fix the roof." He stormed out.

"You don't have to do that." Michi called to him as she pulled back the curtains allowing the light to flood into the room.

" Whatever." He snapped.

Kagome shook her head. "I hope he's been behaving."

Michi smiled. "Oh he hasn't been any trouble, just don't ask my husband."

"Oh no, did he do something?"

" Yeah, Kagome, he grabbed Ryu by the throat and was gonna kill him, I think, but Michi stopped him." Shippou exclaimed.

Kagome's eyes widened, but before she could utter an apology, Shippou spoke up again.

" Tanaya is really scared of him. He's really mean to Michi too. I don't think that's right." He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

" Thank you little one." Michi looked very touched at the little fox's observation.

" Shippou, do you want to play tag?" Tanaya questioned poking her head into the room.

" Yeah." He answered excited to Tanaya, than looked up at Kagome. "I'll be back later, Kagome. Feel better!" He dashed out of the room hot on the heels of the human child, while Kirara trailed behind both of them.

Michi chuckled. "Kids."

" Yeah." Kagome bit her lip, before asking her next question. "How's Miroku?"

" Tired apparently, since he hasn't woken up yet." Michi rang her hands together tensely.

" He'll be okay." Kagome smiled reassuringly as she covered Michi's hands with her own. "He has to be; he doesn't have an heir, yet. He won't die without that." She teased hoping to cheer Michi up.

Michi sighed dramatically, "I suppose you're right."

Kagome grinned. "Where's Sango, by the way?"

" Taking care of Miroku. She's barely left his side this entire time." Michi's expression turned thoughtful. "The poor girl, she must be heartbroken over her brother." Michi noted Kagome's confused expression and explained. "Inuyasha was telling me about Naraku and what he did to Sango and her brother."

"Oh yeah. He's horrid all right, can't leave anyone alone. But then you know that don't you. I mean, of course you do. Sorry I'm rambling." Kagome muttered not believing she'd said something that stupid. Then Kagome noticed the second set of prayer beads around Michi's wrist. "How are you feeling? Did Naraku do something to you?"

Michi looked down at her hand and unwrapped the covering, showing her now scarred palm to Kagome. "Naraku opened the curse in me, but Miroku sealed it. I'm still a little shaken up over the whole thing."

"How did he seal it?" Kagome gasped. "Could he close the one in his own hand?"

"He used some kind of ancient spell, but he was speaking in a language I didn't understand, in a voice that wasn't his own and I hardly doubt the power he was using was his either." Michi drew a ragged breath as her eyes filled with tears. "He did it; he spoke the answer and I..." She choked out an anguished sob. "And I didn't hear it." She stood to her feet; blurting out, "I have to go check on some things. I'll come back to check on you later." Michi hurried from the room.

Kagome sighed and leaned back against her pillow_. 'Poor Michi, I wish I could help her. Naraku, I swear one of these days...'_ Kagome rubbed the side of her face, and yawned before closing her eyes.

* * *

Michi raced into the forest, she had to get away from the house and everyone in it. The blood pounded in her ears as the tears streamed down her face. She ran until she could barely breathe and her legs burned in pain. She fell to her knees on the forest floor and let out a wail of sorrow. She gripped her right wrist and tore off the second set of prayer beads. The cord that held the beads together ripped, sending the beads flying in all directions. She beat the ground with her fists and cursed between her sobs.

" Why?" She finally whispered to whomever might be listening. "What could I have possibly done to deserve this? What in my past lives merited this?" Her voice broke as she continued to cry out. "The answer was laid out before me and I in my human weakness wasn't able to hear it! Why?!? Why won't you let me save him?!? He doesn't deserve this!"

Michi broke down crying, and wrapped her arms around her body. "All I want to do is see him alive, not walking dead." Her voice was barely above a whisper. Miroku had been her responsibility since she was five and she had taken it very seriously. They had been so close as they grew-up, but the older Miroku got, the more he understood his curse and the more withdrawn he became. Finally his lighthearted nature was no more than an act to hide the fear that threatened to overcome him. Ever since his father had died, Miroku had been terrified of the wind, it reminded him of the horror he'd witnessed.

* * *

_:Begin Flashback:_

_Michi ran through the forest, the braches of the trees scraping her face as they whipped by her. That horrible light that had come from the direction of the temple had awoken her from her sleep. Her first thought had been her little cousin Miroku, he was at the temple that night. 'Something may have happened to Miroku, or Taro...Taro...The curse!!'_

_Michi ran faster at the thought, if Taro was dead, than the curse would have passed. Miroku would now have the full force of the wind tunnel in his hand. She stopped when she got to a clearing and took a few deep breaths. She looked down at her right hand; it hurt a little and her fingers felt cold. She shook her head and continued to run to temple. She finally reached the temple and saw the gapping creator in front of the temple._

_Moushin was kneeling in front of the hole, chanting a burial prayer._

_Michi walked up next to him and asked, "Where's Miroku?"_

"_Ahh!" Moushin gasped and glared at the young girl. "Child, are you trying to send me to an early grave?" He turned Michi's head to face the creator, "Look there. Your uncle has just fallen to the curse. Show some respect to him."_

_Michi huffed, "You can perform the funeral rites. Taro probably caused his own death."_

_Moushin cuffed her against the cheek, not very hard though, just enough to get her attention. "Show respect to the dead, Michi. I taught you better than that."_

_Michi scuffed her feet and bowed her head for a moment, but she wouldn't pray for him. She never forgave Taro for trying to give Miroku to Naraku. "Where's Miroku? He's probably upset."_

"_He's under the temple, he won't come out." Moushin told her._

"_Thank you Moushin-sensei." Michi bowed to him and started towards the temple._

_Moushin called to the eleven-year-old, "The curse is awakened in him."_

"_I know." Michi called back to him as she continued to walk away._

"_Michi." Moushin called out to get her attention, when she turned and looked at him he posed his question. " How did you make it through the woods at night, with all the demons roaming about?"_

"_I ran." She answered not really comprehending what her teacher had meant and hurried to the steps of the temple. _

_She said a quick prayer and listened for her cousin. Soon she heard the quiet sobs under the temple and wiggled herself under the lip of the temple. "Miroku?"_

"_Go away!" He screeched._

_Michi squinted, her eyes finally focusing enough to see the little boy huddled against one of the temples beams. His back was to the beam and his little body was curled up in a ball as he cradled his right arm tight to his chest. "Miroku, it's okay. I'm right here."_

_Miroku lifted his head and cried out, "It ate him, Michi. The wind ate him and it'll eat me too!" _

"_I won't let it get you, don't worry." She called to him. "Come here, Miroku. It's okay."_

"_I'm afraid." He sobbed and crawled towards Michi._

_Michi pulled him out from beneath the temple and held him in her arms, rubbing his back and whispering comforting words. "Everyone's afraid sometimes. I'll be right here until you're not afraid anymore."_

_Teary eyed and terrified, Miroku looked up at her desperate for comfort. "Promise?"_

"_On my honor." Michi kissed the top of his head._

_Miroku finally let go of his right hand and nudged the beads wrapped around his wrist. "I almost killed Moushin." He whispered through fresh tears. "My wind almost ate him."_

"_But it didn't." Michi comforted. "You'll learn to control it. And you'll beat that demon that curse our family."_

_" Michi, I want my father." His lip quivered and he threw his arms around his cousin's neck._

_" I know, but it's okay. I'm here." She tightened her grip on him and rocked back and forth until he finally fell asleep._

_:End Flashback:

* * *

_

Michi let out another sob of pain as she tried to calm herself down. A snap of a twig startled her and she turned around quickly. "Inuyasha, you scared me."

" Sorry, I heard you crying. I though you might be hurt." Inuyasha mumbled and looked away from her.

Michi blinked and wiped the tears from her face. "No, I'm...I was...I was just thinking. Thank you though, for coming to check on me. I'll back up to the house shortly."

"Take your time." Inuyasha answered as he turned to walk away.

" Inuyasha?"

" Yeah?" He cocked his head at her awaiting her question.

"Why are you so kind to me?" Michi asked quietly.

Inuyasha snorted. "Ya, just remind me of someone. It ain't a big deal." He stomped away from her.

Michi watched him walk away, than gathered a few herbs in her apron before returning to the house.

* * *

Sango soaked the cloth in the herb-saturated water and applied it to Miroku's face again. She narrowed her eyebrows and sighed heavily. "There's nothing wrong with you. Why won't you awake up?" Sango continued to wipe the cloth over Miroku's skin. Michi had left the bowl with her saying that its contents were a type of stimulant and it might wake him up, but so far it seemed to have affect.

Michi was very upset over something. Sango hadn't felt comfortable asking her, but she knew something was hurting Michi. It was probably Ryu. Sango had been listening from the corner and knew about the awful things that Michi had gone through. She had heard everything, in fact, if Inuyasha hadn't been so fast, Sango would have defended Michi herself.

Sango looked down at the monk, sleeping peacefully oblivious to the world around him. Miroku couldn't have known what his cousin had been going through; he wouldn't have allowed that. Hopefully he would wake up soon and Sango could talk to him about everything. She smoothed his bangs away from his face. "If only you were this peaceful, when you were awake."

"He'd be pretty boring then." Kagome teased from the doorway. She was wearing her modern sleeping clothes and leaning against the post to keep weight off her right side.

Sango quickly jumped to her feet and rushed to Kagome, "You shouldn't be up. Your injuries will re-open."

Kagome managed a half-smile as she complained, "I was careful. If I had walked any slower, moss would've grown on me."

Sango laughed at the Kagome's ridiculous suggestion.

" How's he doing?" Kagome motioned to Miroku.

Sango looked over her shoulder and sighed. "He's barely moved since the fight and he hasn't woken up."

"I know Michi was telling me that. Did we figure out what Naraku wanted, this time?"

Sango folded her arms over her chest. "Does he need another reason, but to make us miserable?"

"Not really." Kagome looked down the hallway. "I was looking for Michi. I think I really upset her."

"How so?"

" Well, I was asking about Miroku and I think she feels guilty about not being able to seal the wind tunnel in him. Because she started crying and ran out, but I was still so sleepy that I just laid back down and went to sleep. I can't believe I did that I'm so awful." Kagome moaned.

Sango touched Kagome's shoulder, "It wouldn't have done Michi any good for you to chase her and re-injure yourself."

"I guess not." Kagome's stomach started growling loudly.

Sango smiled, "I think we should find you something to eat."

" Yeah, food sounds good."

* * *

**Original Reviewer Responses:**

**Review Responses**:

**Coherentidiot: **I'm so glad your enjoying the story. I hope you continue to like/love it. Thank you for taking the time to review and for your very kind words, they are so inspirational!!

**Nuklear Firefly:** Thanks for the review! I so appreciate the time you take! Check outJaid Skywalker'sreview for the last part she wrote up hilarous conversation between Miroku and Sango about their daughter

**Hikari: **Thank you so much for review again! And pointing out what you really liked! Ryu, well he'll get his, don't worry! Bows Glad I'm getting Naraku right...I was worried about that. I promise, promise, promise to look over your fic when I have time! I wish I could have done it earlier, but I'm WAY too busy at the moment. But I will! Thanks again for being your wonderful self!!!

**Jaid Skywalker** You so made my day! That conversation in your review, made me smile! Thanks for the review and taking the time, it's so mice of you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!!

**Blades of Ice**: (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") Dancing Kirbies for you for recommending my story!! Thanks thanks!!! I'm glad you liked the chapter...um...yeah he's still sleeping I'm working on that! Meantime, think happy thoughts

**Neatobeans: **Thanks for the tip about Blades of Ice! I'm so flattered that you liked the story. I'm sorry it took you so long to read, but thanks for doing so. I hope you continue to enjoy the story thanks for taking the time to review.

**WildfireDreams**: Thanks for your wonderful compliment and for taking the time to review! I so appreciate hearing from people that read this tale I'm spinning. I'm working on curing the monk so don't worry I hope you like this chapter too!! Thanks again!

**Hershey:** Hope you liked this chapter too! Thanks for taking time to review!

**Dreamseeker:** "Be..." just kidding! You know I can't resist

Thanks for all your comments they were helpful. It's nice when people tell me what they liked it helps me improve! Anyways Thank you for taking the time to review. I love you dearly, angel! Take care. I'll talk to ya later! Hope you liked this chapter too!!

**Higurashi Kagome: **Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to review! I appreciate it. Thank you for complimenting my POV I'm not always sure how it'll go over with folks. Well I hope you continue to enjoy this. Thanks again!

**Kookie: **I'm glad you like the story and my characters...they love to play Anyways thank you for the compliments and for taking the time to review. I hoe you like this chapter as well!

**Meow the chibi neko: **Hee Hee. The dancing kirbie revolution continues. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for taking the time to review.

**Kaylana:** Don't worry his (Ryu) karma will swing around. I hope you're having a good week and getting more sleep. Goodness. Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to review my story and point out what you like and that you were confused. I appreciate the honesty. I hope you like this chapter too! Thanks again!

**Tyric Stinnet: **¥ I love you!! You are so cool to have reviewed my story. Thanks for everything you do for me!


	12. pt11

**Authoress' Notes: **Hi guys, I'm sorry I'm not doing reviewer responses this time. I'll do them next time I promise. I'm really upset right now. I got a flame e-mail on another fic I wrote and it really took the wind out of my sails. I didn't want to punish you guys for what this other person did. I mean it's not your fault... Sigh So anyways, I wrote the most of this before I read that awful e-mail so I think that's more up to par with my style....as for the last scene, well I wrote it after...don't know if I like it. I should be updating next week as usual, but if I don't be patient please.

Special Thanks to these folks for being so wonderful and review my fic and making me smile!**Coherentidiot  
****Nuklear Firefly  
****Hikari  
****Jaid Skywalker  
****Blades of Ice  
****Neatobeans  
****WildfireDreams  
****Dreamseeker  
****Higurashi Kagome  
****Kaylana  
****Araki-chan  
****Zephor**

Anyways. I hope you enjoy this. And I seriously hope you're all having better weeks than I am. I'm gonna go crawl into my little hole in the ground and hide!

semi-smiles -T.A.

**EDIT - Incidentally, this little part had a lot of errors in it that I fixed.**

* * *

**Family Ties: Part 11**

* * *

Inuyasha sat on the roof of Michi's house, watching the sun prepare to break over the horizon. He'd finished patching the roof a little past sunset, but he'd stayed on the roof all night. He hadn't wanted to face Michi just yet. He'd caught her weeping; walked up on her when she was trying to be alone with her grief. He understood her guilt all too well; the guilt of not being able to protect the ones that you care for. Michi thought of Miroku as her pup; he'd finally realized that when he'd heard her wailing. Miroku saved her, but Michi couldn't do the same for him.

This would be the third morning since the attack; he had an uneasy feeling about the whole experience. He should have chased Naraku, but as Kagome would say, 'coulda, shoulda, woulda; didn't.' He regretted that decision now; it would have been better if he'd fought Naraku. But waking up and seeing Kagome unconscious and bleeding had spooked him into taking care of her instead. Damn sentimentality.

He'd watched Shippou and Tanaya play tag and hide-n-seek as he'd patched the roof. It was amazing to him that Tanaya accepted Shippou as just another kid, even though he was demon. She would be a good person, despite her lineage. Thinking on the kid's lineage, what in the seven Hells was wrong with Miroku? He had barely moved since the attack. Gods, was he gonna sleep the rest of his life away?

Inuyasha snorted and rolled his neck, before reclining against the roof. He decided to take a nap before everyone woke up and bothered him. He barely noticed the wind change direction as he drifted off to sleep and didn't notice the scent of blood that drifted in his direction.

* * *

_:Begin Flashback:_

_Sango was sitting on the bank of the river a pile of wood was stacked beside her. She ran her fingers over the new scratches on her hands. A demon exterminator beaten by plants, simple briars no less, it was positively ridiculous. She washed the blood off her hands than reached for the flute she kept hidden in her kimono. As she began to play, she didn't realize that she was being watched, until she heard a twig snap. She dropped her flute and turned to face the person, who had crept up on her._

"_Houshi-sama, you startled me." She complained._

"_I am sorry, Sango. But please, don't stop playing on my account." He sat down next to her._

_Sango gave him a wary look, "Why, do you want to keep my hands busy?"_

_Miroku winced slightly, "I suppose I deserve that. But no I just haven't heard anyone of real talent play a flute in quite sometime and you play very nicely."_

_Sango felt herself blush all the way to her ears. " Thank you Houshi-sama." She looked back down at the instrument, before bringing it to her lips and beginning to play._

_Miroku closed his eyes and listened to the gentle sound the flute made. The melody was melancholy almost haunting. She played it without any hesitation, the music flowing forth as if it were a part of her. When she stopped playing Miroku let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "That was lovely, but so very sad."_

"_It's the ballad of Midoriko and the jewel. It's always been piece that's comforted me." Sango pulled her knees up to her chest, as she looked skyward. "So many stars."_

"_And they all have stories." Miroku sighed. " You know, I used to know all the myths surrounding the stars in this area."_

"_What happened?" Sango looked at him questioningly._

"_I started focusing on Naraku more and more. I fear that if we beat him I won't know what to do with myself."_

"_**When** we beat him, I will face the same problem. I will have no where to go or anyone to go with, once our party is split." _

_Miroku touched her shoulder and smiled softly. " Sango, if you ever need a place; there is always a place open at my side, for a true friend such as yourself."_

_Sango looked up at him surprised at his sudden tenderness. "Thank you Houshi-sama. I will remember that."_

_He nodded and the two slipped into a comfortable silence. He breathed in the air of the river and scent of the woman near him and closed his eyes._

"_You should wait to sleep until we get back to camp." Sango admonished._

"_You'd protect me." He didn't even open an eye._

"_Perhaps, you are too trusting of me, Houshi-sama." Sango stood up and bent over to retrieve her firewood. "We should return to camp before Inuyasha..." Sango trailed off as her face turned red. "Hentai!" She smacked him upside the head, with one of the gathered logs and stalked off towards the camp._

_:Pause Flashback:

* * *

_

Michi dried her hands on her apron as entered Miroku's room. Dawn hadn't come just yet and she was busy getting her morning chores done, before everyone awoke. She had already checked on everyone else in the house.

Kagome was still sleeping peacefully; her wounds were healing very nicely. Tanaya, her sweet daughter, was sleeping with Shippou curled up next to her. Michi had told them both a story last night and they were both sleeping before the end of it. Kirara was sleeping in the window of Tanaya's room, just in case. Inuyasha was still on the roof, he'd only come down to eat, than he went right back up. Nia still hadn't returned, but that wasn't all that surprising. She and Ryu wouldn't come back until they were sure Miroku and the others were long gone.

Miroku and Sango were the last two people that she had to check on before going out to the fields to start the morning work. She knelt by her cousin and to check to see if he'd acquired a fever during the night. He seemed fine, but he was still sleeping as if dead.

Michi looked at Sango, the demon exterminator had fallen asleep next to Miroku, her fingers entwined in his. Michi had recognized the affection between her cousin and battle worn taijiya, but they were both fighting it. Well, only sort of on her cousin's part. Miroku would rather play then experience anything real; real emotions required the chance of pain and he didn't like being hurt. He was such a sensitive soul, sometimes.

Michi didn't pretend to be an expert on Sango, but she knew pain when she saw it. She also knew the exterminator village that had been wiped out by demons and figured that was where Sango was from. Sango shifted in her sleep, eyebrow furring as if frustrated with something in her dream. Michi brushed the hair away from the girl's face trying to sooth her. Sango shifted away, leaning closer to Miroku.

"I can't believe you're sleeping through this. You really are dead to world right n..." Michi's eyes lit up as a memory flooded her mind and she raced out of the room.

* * *

_:Resume Flashback:_

_**A white light flashed brightly, illuminating the whole area, when it died down, the area had changed; in fact it was an entirely different place, at a different time.**_

_Miroku was completely calm as he rested by the placid stream. The sky was cloudless, the sun warmed his skin and the wind blew gently across his body, truly a perfect day. For once there were no shouts of panic or sounds of demon attacks. Only the ripple of water and birds singing off in the distance He was content to sleep the day away in this peaceful, still place. He would be content to stay in this place, for as long as time would allow him too._

_" Houshi-sama? Houshi-sama, is that you?" A female voice called out in the distance._

_Miroku sat up sluggishly, his body felt so heavy, "Who's there?"_

_" Houshi-sama, are you alright?" Sango rushed up to him._

_He smiled at her, "Of course, I'm alright Sango. Why wouldn't I be?"_

_Sango's eyes widened as if his statement made no sense to her at all. "Can't you see the danger you're in?"_

_" What danger? Sango, there is nothing here that could possible harm anyone. Even the river is calm..." Miroku tried to calm the upset taijiya._

_" Calm? That water is raging, Houshi-sama."_

_Miroku arched his eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"_

_" You tell me. You're the one who's calm in this place of death." Sango's eyes filled with disbelief. "Can't you hear the storm raging around us?"_

_" No. I don't hear anything like that. In fact this place seems very peaceful to me."_

_" It isn't. Houshi-sama, you're sleeping. That's why you see it that way."_

_" I am not sleeping." Miroku was beginning to get agitated. He felt as if he'd had this conversation before. "I will show you." He started towards the river._

_Sango grasped his hand with a grip that was painfully tight, as fear flooded her features. "Don't go to the river. Whatever you do Miroku, do not touch the water."_

_" Why?"_

_" I don't know. I just think..." Sango turned her head to the side as if she heard something and she disappeared from his view._

_:End Flashback:

* * *

_

Sango's eyes flew open at the clanging sound of metal against wood and Michi's cursing. She disentangled herself from Miroku and leapt up to help Michi put out the fire.

" Thank you." Michi breathlessly told Sango as she tried to gather her composure. "Are you alright? I'm sorry to have woken you like that."

" That's all right. I was having a nightmare anyway." Sango rubbed her eyes and yawned. "What's that?"

Michi looked at the scroll in her hand. "Family history." She responded before picking up the stand she'd knocked over a moment ago.

" Everything okay?" Inuyasha asked from the doorway, his sleeve covering his face.

"Yes, I was just being clumsy." Michi assured him. "But could you go check on Kagome, I'm sure she heard the crash and woke up."

Inuyasha snorted and walked out of the room.

"Now, where was I? Right, family history." Michi muttered more to herself than to Sango as she unrolled the scroll. "Here we are. Ah-ha! I was right." Her lips curled into a satisfied smile.

Sango was now completely lost. "Right about what?"

Michi pointed to the scroll, "See it's right there."

"I can't read." Sango admitted.

Michi bit her lip, "Sorry about that I forget how rare a skill it is. My mother wrote the scroll passage here about me. It basically gives an account where I flashed a demon."

" Flashed?" Sango was unfamiliar with the term that Michi was using.

" Flashed, that what our family calls to the surge of power that our little ones can freeze demons with. But what grabs my attention to the passage is what happened after I flashed the demon. I slept as if I were dead for a full day and night. My body needed to recover its energy." Michi explained looking down at her sleep cousin. "Which judging by your age, you should wake up sometime tonight. Don't you disprove my theory!"

Sango chuckled at Michi's demands and stretched her arms over her head. " So you think Houshi-sama, will be fine, then?"

"Yes, I should think he'll be fine, unless he tries to cross the Bardo."

" Bardo? I don't understand; he isn't moving how could he cross anything?"

Michi touched Sango's shoulder, "It's a very rare thing to hear about. A Bardo is a spiritual place, where the soul prepares to move from one life to the next. It usually looks very dark and frightening on one side and on the other is a very early spring a river separates the two sides and...."

Sango's eye widened as she remembered the decaying place she'd seen Miroku in her dream. The black trees and raging river on the side they were standing on and the peaceful side across the river from them. "The river is divided by a wide band of white light." She whispered.

"Yes, how did you know that?"

"I saw it in my dream; Miroku was there, sleeping by the river."

Michi blinked twice as the information sank in, then she feinted dead away.

_Well I hope you all enjoyed that! There was fluff! Sorry it was shorter than normal. Sigh Anyways please R&R, nicely...._


	13. pt12

**Authoress' Notes:** Well I'm back!! And feeling fine! Thank you so much for all the encouragement! The flamer has been properly dealt with...my Taylor muse has taken care of her (In order to understand that, you'd have to read about her in my original work on fictionpress....at least until I put her up in my bio). Also a BIG thanks for being patient...this chapter wasn't easy to write. And for the job that was supposed to keep me busy, well I got canned (fired), for being too nice of all things... Sigh I so do not want to think about that... Okay so onto better things! This chapter's gotta lot stuff in it, so I hope you enjoy it!

BIG SMILES - T.A.

* * *

**Family Ties: Part 12**

* * *

Dawn broke over the horizon as the field workers started to arrive. They talked among themselves as they prepared for the day. Makoto had already told them that the hawk-demon had been killed and that had put their minds at ease. They walked through the backfields, as they usually did, when they came from town. One of the workers thought he smelled a dead animal near the forest and went over to investigate.

"By all the gods of heaven." He gasped stumbling backwards. "Call the elders! Ryu's been murdered!"

Most of the men rushed over to see if what the man said was true, but one took off towards the village. Makoto was among those who'd stayed behind; he was horrified at the sight of the two bodies that lay before him. The body beside Ryu's was definitely a woman. Maybe it was Nia, the servant woman from Ryu's house? Both of the bodies had been slashed to pieces. It had been a very brutal killing. Makoto was listening to the men talk as they awaited the arrival of the town's elders.

"You know, _she_ was never happy in his home."

"He beat _her_ all the time, how could you blame _her_ for being unhappy."

"_She_ should've learned her place."

"_She_ was always melding were _she_ didn't belong."

"But do you really think _she_ was capable of murder?"

" Wouldn't be the first time a woman rose up against her husband."

"We can't let _her_ get away with this."

"The elders will know how to handle _her_."

Makoto could not believe his ears. Lady Michi had always cared for these men and their families. She had given these men food, treated their injuries, and was always kind to them. Now they were turning on her, without any proof. Makoto took a deep breath and thought about the elders: one of Ryu's brothers was an elder. Lady Michi would be killed for sure. He snuck away from the other men and started running towards Lady Michi's house.

* * *

Michi blinked her eyes as she began to come around. "Ouch." She rubbed the back of her head and tried to sit up, but she started to fall backwards.

Sango caught Michi and helped her sit up the rest of the way. "Careful you hit the floor rather hard."

" Thank you." Michi managed to reply, before breathing out heavily. "I'm okay. I just..." She blinked again and tried to make the world around her make sense again.

" What's going on?" Inuyasha asked from the doorway.

" Michi feinted, but I think she's okay now." Sango told him.

"She feints now? She goes through all that shit just to feint now? What the hell's wrong with you?" He growled.

Michi was trying to stand to her feet. "The Bardo is a place where souls cross over into the next life. If there isn't any hope on the side that the soul resides on than the soul crosses over..." Michi wobbled on her feet, her voice sounding far away and disconnected. " If there's no life, I mean, light then..." She stumbled forward, before Sango caught her again.

" Please, Michi sit back down." Sango tried to calm the woman down.

Michi shook her head, still trying to clear it. "What did you see, when you saw him there?"

" Hello! Did I miss something?" Inuyasha folded his arms over his chest and glared at the two women. "What are you talking about? What's a Bardo?"

Sango looked at Michi, who was flexing her right wrist furiously, and decided to try to explain the situation to Inuyasha herself. " Michi explained to me that a Bardo is a spiritual place. It's where the soul prepares to move from one life to the next. I saw Miroku there in my dream, I think he was preparing to cross the river, which..."

"I got it, Sango, I ain't an idiot. The monk crosses the river in the dream he dies here." Inuyasha scratched the back of his head. " So now what?"

Michi looked at Inuyasha, then at Miroku, then finally at Sango. "Was there any light on side Miroku was standing on?" Her voice had cleared significantly from a few moments ago.

Sango hesitated before answering, "I didn't see any at all."

Michi made a pained sound and clutched her chest. "I don't know what to do." She admitted and folded her arms over her chest. "Maybe a dream-connection, but it's so dangerous. I don't know..." Michi trailed off as she thought she heard a sound.

Inuyasha's nose was all ready twitching as he caught the scent, "It's the farmer that talked to you the other night."

" Makoto. I'll be right back." Michi nodded and started towards the doorway, when a frantic voice was heard from the front room.

"Lady Michi! Lady Michi! I need to speak to you."

* * *

Michi walked out into the front room, the skirt of her work clothes didn't quite reach the ground. She turned to face the older farmer; he looked very upset. "Makoto, what is it? What's wrong?" She reached out her left hand to the man to reassure him.

Makoto dropped to his knees in front of her and grasped her hand. "My Lady Michi, I have terrible news your husband Lord Ryu was killed along with a young woman."

Michi blinked, her brain was already on overload, and this additional information was nearly overwhelming. "Where was he found?"

"Near the woods closest to the backfields, but my Lady..."

Michi cut him off distractedly, "I have to go out there, Makoto. I have to prepare a proper burial for him."

"My Lady Michi, please you do not understand. Your husband, Lord Ryu, was brutally murdered..." The poor farmer tried to explain as he rose to his feet.

"I have seen mutilated bodies, Makoto. I have to..."

"Lady Michi! You must listen to me. The other farmers have called for the town's elders, they think you murdered Lord Ryu." The man panted, suddenly out of breath.

Michi's face lost of all of its color and she wobbled on her feet.

"Lady Michi, I will fight for you." Makoto assured her.

Michi suddenly snapped back to reality as his words registered in her mind. She became much calmer. "No, Makoto, if you stay and defend me, you will be punished with me."

"But Lady Michi, you did not murder your husband. You would never do such a thing."

" Makoto, go; leave this house and go home. I will be fine, I do not fear the elders or what they can do to me."

" But..."

" Makoto, you are a true friend, but go." Michi shooed him towards the door and pushed him out.

She clenched and unclenched her right hand as she leaned against the door and tried to think of something. The elders would come here soon and they would kill her and anyone in her house that tried to defend her. '_Tanaya.'_ Michi's heart stopped beating at the thought of her daughter being hurt or worse. _'I can't let them stay here. I have to get my daughter and the others out.'_ She paced a few steps trying to come up with a place to send her guests to save them from the incoming mob. _'Not to mention spare your daughter the sight...'_

"Is everything alright?" Sango asked interrupting Michi's thoughts.

"No." Michi looked at Sango seriously. "My husband is dead. He's been murdered and I am suspected of the crime."

" Michi, why would they suspect you?" Sango questioned.

"I don't know. Perhaps, they aren't very fond of me." Michi sighed angrily.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes; I need you to get my daughter and cousin far away from here."

"What about you?"

"I have to face the elders or they will pursue me and my child." Michi drew a deep breath. "Please check on Miroku, make sure he's still doing well. I have to think."

Sango nodded, and complied with the woman's wishes.

Michi walked into Kagome's room. Inuyasha was helping the young woman to her feet. "I need to ask a favor of you Inuyasha."

The hanyou grunted as Kagome answered for him. "He'd be glad to help."

"Glad I'm so willing to be helpful." He glared at Kagome.

" Please, Inuyasha, I..." Michi started to plead, before being cut off by Inuyasha.

"I'll help, woman. What are you so worked up over?" He huffed.

"My husband is dead."

"I'm so sorry, Michi." Kagome sympathized.

"I'm not." Michi narrowed her eyes. "But he's reaching beyond his death to strike at me. The elders of my village are coming here to charge me with murder."

" Bring 'em on. I'll just kill 'em." Inuyasha growled.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but no. I need you to get my cousin and my daughter to safety, besides Kagome is in no condition to face an angry mob."

"And you're going to stay here and die? That's stupid."

" Inuyasha! Don't say things like that!" Kagome chided, before looking at Michi and asking. "You aren't really going to stay are you?"

"I have to." Michi bowed her head and breathed deeply. "Tanaya and Miroku are my first priority, I need to know they're safe. The elders won't do anything to me without a trial and I'm sure someone will come back and rescue me before that ends."

"And if we don't?" Inuyasha demanded.

" Karma will write my newest chapter." Michi looked at Inuyasha sadly. "Please aid me, Inuyasha."

" Fine. Whatever. Just get the brat ready to travel." Inuyasha helped Kagome sit down as Michi left the room.

"Are you really gonna leave her?" Kagome whispered.

"I can't make her leave. Besides, she's worried about the kid. I'll come back here to get her, before anything happens."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be. Jeeze, get off my back."

* * *

Michi went to her writing table and gathered some of the more important scrolls: the family history accounts, as far back as her Grandfather's 6th great Grandfather, the legends that she and Miroku had collected over the years, Miroku's letters and the small book of remedies and healing plants that she had written herself. She packed them all into a travel basket carefully putting some of her best kimonos in between to keep them safe. If nothing else they could be sold for Tanaya's benefit. The final item she placed in the basket was her herb book. She careful smoothed the cover and made a pained sound. She had been recording cures, and the uses for herbs, including very detailed drawings of them. Tanaya would be able to learn everything Michi learned, without the deadly trial and error game.

After laying a blanket over the top of the basket to protect it from any potential air-born threats, Michi reached under her desk along the paneling to the hidden compartment and the box within it. Michi held the black lacquer box in her hand and lifted the old lid carefully. The jade pendant had outlived eight boxes and three chains; no one in the family could remember where it had come from. The precious heirloom was crafted into the shape of the eternity symbol; it had no true ending or beginning. Michi held it to her heart for a moment, savoring the cool feeling of the stone against the fingers of her left hand. Finally she stood to her feet and brushed off her skirt. She held the pendant tightly in her hand and walked into her daughter's room.

Tanaya was sleeping serenely, unaware of the horrors that were mounting around her. Shippou was curled up next to Tanaya, using her stomach as a pillow. Michi knelt beside the two and watched them for another moment before sighing softly.

She gently nudged Shippou trying to wake him as quietly as possible.

He opened his eyes sleepily, but since Michi was holding her finger to her lips, he didn't speak.

Michi lifted him unto her lap and smoothed his soft fur. "Good morning little kitsune, thank you for watching over my daughter last night."

Shippou's little nose quivered, as he smelled the air around Michi. He could smell her tears, "Why are you so sad, Michi?"

" Don't worry little one. It isn't your concern." Michi tapped his nose and managed a half smirk for his benefit. "I'm sending you and the others ahead of me. I need to keep watching over her," Michi motioned to Tanaya, "for a while. Can you do that for me?"

"Why aren't you coming with us?" Shippou questioned.

"I have to arrange some things here, before I can leave and I don't want Inuyasha throwing a fit."

Shippou considered this seemly logical excuse. "Yeah, I guess so. I can try to keep Tanaya safe."

" Thank you Shippou, I am forever in your debt."

"Awe, don't worry about it."

"Just the same, I thank you for your kindness." Michi set him on the ground. "I have one more favor to ask of you."

" Okay." Shippou looked up curiously.

" There's a traveling basket in the other room, have Sango get it and put it with the things you'll be taking with you." Michi told him.

"Oh yeah, I can do that." Shippou scampered off towards the other room.

Michi sighed and brushed away the bangs of her sleeping child. "Oh my angel, I'm so sorry." She whispered sadly before looking at Kirara, "Go to your mistress, she'll be needing you to help carry Miroku and Kagome."

The little fire-cat-demon nuzzled against Michi's hand affectionately, then quietly slipped out of the room.

Michi fastened the pendant around the child's neck and rubbed the charm where it came to rest on her daughter's body. "This has been in our family so long, we've forgotten where we received it. But it is very special." Michi let the tears flow freely down her face as she spoke to her sleeping daughter. "Tanaya, I will always love you." She kissed Tanaya's forehead and cradled her daughter to her chest. After settling Tanaya on her lap, Michi tucked the blanket tightly around her. "May the four winds be kind to you; may you learn your lessons well; and may you never forget my love for you." She picked up her daughter's doll and tucked it inside the blanket.

Michi stood to her feet and walked out into the main room, with the sleeping Tanaya in her arms.

"She okay?" Inuyasha asked.

Michi sniffed as she nodded and handed the wrapped up child to Inuyasha, who took her reluctantly. "I want her to be safe."

He nodded and shifted Tanaya in his arms.

"Just get him behind me and I can hold him in place." Kagome, already sitting on Kirara, told Sango.

Michi knelt by her cousin and kissed his forehead. "Stay out of trouble, Love." She and Sango lifted Miroku onto to the kneeling Kirara and wrapped his arms around Kagome's waist.

"Are you going to be able to hold him like that?" Sango questioned.

"If he doesn't wake up." Kagome half-laughed.

Tanaya had woken up in the midst of the all the commotion and whimpered as she struggled against the blanket.

"Hey, calm down, kid, it's okay." Inuyasha tried to assure her.

" Mommy!" Tanaya called out to the only person she wanted.

Michi finished securing the traveling basket onto Sango's back and walked over to Inuyasha and Tanaya. "It's alright, Angel, I'm right here."

" Mommy, what's going on?"

" Nothing, don't worry. You're going to go with Inuyasha and the others for a while. It'll be a grand adventure." Michi smoothed the hair away from Tanaya's face.

"Why can't I go with you?"

" Because...mommy has things to finish here."

"I want to stay with you." Tanaya pouted.

"No. You need to go with Inuyasha." Michi told Tanaya firmly.

Tanaya started struggling in the blanket as she started to cry. "Mommy, something bad's gonna happen. I don't want to leave you! Mommy, don't send me away."

" Tanaya, that is enough." Michi snapped at her daughter before her own eyes filled with tears.

" Mommy." Tanaya lip quivered as she started to cry.

"Shh. Shh. No tears." Michi cupped her daughter's face in her hands. " I love you, Tanaya. You be good until I see you again."

" Okay." Tanaya sniffed and tried to put on a brave face.

"Good girl. Take care of Miroku for me."

" Okay."

"You better get going." Michi told her guests. "They'll be here soon."

" Where are we going, besides away?" Kagome asked.

"Down the hill, through the pass into town and in the poor section of town there's an inn; if you give the inn-keeper this," Michi handed a wrapped package to Sango, "he'll let you stay as long as you need. I wouldn't stay longer than a day or two, though, if I haven't met up with you."

Inuyasha grunted as he hefted Kagome's backpack over his shoulder. "I'll be back."

"I know." Michi helped him get the other strap over his other shoulder.

Tanaya let out a whimper as Inuyasha started towards the door.

"Be brave little angel. I love you. It's okay."

Kirara thumped behind Inuyasha, with Kagome hanging onto Miroku's arms and her legs clamped on Kirara's sides. They had just gotten out the door, when Tanaya started wailing.

"Not okay! Not okay! I want my mommy!"

Inuyasha flattened his ears against his head to block out the sound, but didn't scold the child for her tears. He just shifted her against his chest and rubbed her back as he started the trek towards town. _'I know kid, it's hard to be without your mother.'_

Michi was biting her down on her lip, keeping her eyes closed as she tried to ignore her daughter's crying.

Shippou, who was sitting on Sango's shoulder, remained silent.

"I should stay." Sango told Michi.

"No. I want you to go, just in case." Michi argued.

"How come?" Shippou questioned.

" Don't worry about it, Shippou." Michi shook her head. "Sango, just go. I'll see you, when I can. Take care of that cousin of mine."

"Very well, but Inuyasha will return for you soon." Sango informed the woman.

"I certainly hope so."

* * *

The group had been quiet for a while as they made their way towards town. Tanaya was still upset, but limited her laments to the occasional whimper. Inuyasha was doing his best to be patient with the poor brat. Shippou was scampering ahead and checking out the roads, just in case. Sango was trying to keep her mind off the fact that she'd abandoned someone that she could have helped.

Kagome was keeping a good hold on Miroku; in fact by keeping their arms directly under her chest, he wasn't quit as awkward as before. Her side was bothering her a little, but not enough for her to lodge a complaint. She shifted again and abruptly stopped. Had he just moved? Kagome was sure she felt him shift, he'd flexed his fingers she was positive. But was he really awake or was it an involuntary...

Thud. Miroku fell off Kirara and hit the ground like a rag-doll. Kagome, red-faced and embarrassed was trying desperately to fix her bra. Shippou jumped off Sango and raced over to inspect the monk lying on the road.

" Miroku, you're awake!" Shippou exclaimed as he looked down at the dazed man, who was looking up at him.

__

_T.A.: Well...He's awake...YIKES ducks flying objects Hope ya'll liked it_

* * *

**Original Reviewer Responses:**

**Review Responses:**

**Incoherence**: (11) He's awake...well sorta Kagome kinda rung his bell letting him fall off, but no worries.....

Evils? Me?? I would never plan evils. Okay so I would, but they're interesting to read about at least

(12): Yes, the 'flashed' word was very much planned. I mean think about that family using the word 'flashed' in a completely innocent manner....wait until Kagome hears this story

I'm glad you liked the spiritual elements in it...I wasn't sure how it'd go over with everyone. Thanks for the encouragement as always (little sneak, changing your name and confusing me) and for the extra little note about the flamer! As I said before they have been properly dealt with. Evil Smile

Hope you liked this chapter too!!

**Nuklear Firefly:** (11) Thanks for the encouragement I so love hearing from you. I'm glad youliked the flashback, thanks for letting me know.

(12) LOL! Great comment. I hope you liked this chapter.

**Hikari: **(11) I'm glad you liked this chapter! Thanks for letting me know what you liked. I always appreciate that! I'm so glad you like the flashbacks I try to pound them to perfection

I know I abuse poor Michi to know end. She appreciates the brownies, but wants to know what they are

Thanks for the well-wishes about the job...wish I woulda been able to keep it!

(12) Thanks for rising to my defense I appreciate you willing to attack for me, but don't worry about it, I finally found my violent muse and let her loose...only problem is that I lost her and I don't know what kind of trouble she's out causing OO

Again thank you for you kind words!

Oh my goodness your whole bit about the ' "bardo or bust" sign' cheered me up like you wouldn't believe...It was so great!! Thank you, Thank you for taking the time to write it!!

I know that last scene was hurried I was talking to my cousin about it and I explained to her that the story is like a movie, it has a nice even pace, than that scene was like someone hit the fast-forward button. I think I got 'em away from it. Thanks again for taking the time! Hope you liked this chapter too!!

**Jaid Skywalker:** (11) Thanks for the review! I hope your question got answered! Thanks for the encouragement about the job...wish I had it...Grr.

(12) Heehee. Thanks so much for taking the time to write this; it made me smile. I'm glad you liked the chapter and don't worry about me. Hug I'm back in the game!!! Thanks for reviewing and telling me what you liked...Hope you liked this chapter too!

**Blades of Ice:** (11) He's awake

**(12) **Thank you for you kind words...Flamer has been properly dealt with...never mind, so anyways. Thanks for commenting on both chapters and I hope you enjoyed this one too. Thank you so much taking the time to review!!

**Neatobeans: **(11) He's awake and I've added chapters Thanks for reviewing I hope you likes this chapter as well!

**WildfireDreams:** (11) Thanks for the review...yeah I put Michi through a lot, but she's pretty tough.

**(12) **Okay that comment about my story being addictive, made my day! Thanks for much for taking time to review. I hope you liked this chapter too!

**Dreamseeker: **(11) Thank you so much for review, sweets! I so appreciate when people tell me what they liked about the story! I'm glad you liked the flashback! Thanks for taking the time to review.

**(12) **Whoa calm down there killer...I took care of the flamer! I'm so glad you liked the chapter! Hope you liked this chapter too! Thank you for your very kind words, they warmed up my heart! I love you as always, sweets!

**Higurashi Kagome: **(11) This is the only Inuyasha fic I've written so far...but I'm planning on writing others...but it may take some time. Thank you so much for the encouragement and the review itself!

**(12)** I know, I know...Kirara, but I watch the dub and it calls her Kilala, which is beyond cute, when Shippou says it Anyways I fixed that in this chapter, but I still have to fix the others. Thanks for telling me and taking the time to review...it's always appreciated! Hope you liked this chapter too!

**Kaylana:** (11) He's awake

(12) **Tweakable Hoshma n' Fun Dinner**, who tis **Kaylana** under a joint pen name w/ a friend btw. Thanks for taking the time to review! I hope you like this part too!!

**Araki-chan: **(11)He's awake! I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for the review!

**Zephor:** (11) Updated! I hope you liked this part! Thanks for the review.

**MetalDRAGON: **(12) See not dead...though he's suffering a few more bruises now o Oops. Thanks for taking the time to review. I hope you liked this part!

**Sawdust monster**: (12) Thanks so much for taking the time to review! Not to mention your very kind words. Thank you. I hope you found this chapter as good as the others. I'm so glad you like my writing style.


	14. pt13

**Authoress' Notes:** Whoo-Hoo! This is the newest chapter. I don't know if I'm happy with it or not. But it is done. I hope you all like it! Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews!! I've hit 100!!! YES!!! I'm so happy! This is the first time, I've ever gotten that many! Does a happy dance Oh yeah, I'm so cool!! Looks around and notices the strange looks she's getting Um...I'm gonna go now. Enjoy the chapter!! Please review!

Smiles - T.A.

* * *

**Family Ties: Part 13

* * *

**

Michi paced her way throughout the house. She'd tried to meditate, but her mind wouldn't quiet. She walked to the front of the house and stood in the doorway. Forcing herself to be still, she listened to wind and caught the sounds of angry shouts from the direction of town. She wrestled briefly with the idea of running, figuring they wouldn't guess her direction, but promptly squashed it, knowing that with her luck, these men would find her daughter.

" Buddha, I don't mean to complain and I know that karma, is not always kind, but I really don't think this is necessary. I am already fully aware that killing is wrong and since I already know this, I did not commit murder." Michi sighed and shook her head. "I probably shouldn't spend these last moments being sacrilegious." She rubbed her temples, before dropping to her knees.

"To clear your mind; to be free of the sorrows of this world; to extricate oneself from the desires of the body and the mind; to be at peace; to be still..." Michi faltered as she tried to retain her focus. "Please...I don't..." Michi covered her face with her hands and wept until she heard the crowd gathering outside her home.

" Michi! Get out here and face us!" The loudest voice shattered her temporary calm.

Michi was flexing and un-flexing her right hand furiously, as she drew deep breathes. She knew that voice all too well, Yukio, Ryu's older brother, the youngest of the town's Elders.

A calm suddenly passed over Michi and she pulled herself up from the floor, wiped her eyes and whispered, "I will meet this with grace." She carefully removed the strand of prayer beads from her right wrist. Her motions were so slow, it as if she was afraid the beads would shatter if she moved too quickly. Michi held the beads in her open palms and closed her fingers over them, while trying to restore her calm.

" Wench, we know you're in there!" Yukio called out over the crowd again.

Michi's brown eyes were calm and sad as she set the beads on the floor, near Miroku's Shakujou. _'They must have forgotten it. I'm sure Miroku will come back for it when he knows it's safe.'_ A pounding on the door interrupted Michi's observations and she looked heavenward before whispering a quiet warning. "Don't look Mother; this is going to be ugly."

The door flew in and tall angry man reached for Michi's ponytail; he gave her hair a jerk, sending her crashing to the ground. Upon hearing her whimper he laughed. "I'm going to enjoy this, Wench."

" Shouldn't you be in mourning for your brother?" She snapped without thinking.

Yukio pulled Michi to her feet by yanking her hair. "I will mourn him once I've pissed on your worthless ashes." He gave her a shove, but kept a hold of her arm as they walked out of the house and into the light of the early morning.

Michi held her chin level and her appearance seemed calm as she surveyed the mob. _'Lit torches? Check. Sharp-pointy things? Check. Angry men? Check. Box containing the dead body? Check. Rope to tie me up? Check. I'm dead.'_ Michi thought miserably as she took note of everything.

" Where's my niece, Wench?" Yukio demanded, before adding. "She should see what her no-good mother did to her honorable father."

" She's not here." Michi told him flatly.

" Where is she?" His grip tightened on her bicep.

Michi looked up at him, her eyes shinning with hatred for this man that wanted to torment her child. "I turned her into a bird and she flew away." She let a defiant smile pass over her feature.

"Is that enough for you? Can't you see what a disrespectful woman this is? Do you need any more proof?" Yukio slammed Michi in the back causing her to fall face down into the dirt. He ground his foot into her back using his weight to hold her down.

" Yukio, do not let your grief blind you. We all know that Michi isn't a normal woman. But we must determine her guilt before we can punish her." Ran, an old wrinkled man, announced while squinting his eyes to get a better look at the Michi.

Koi the richest man in the village stood to his feet, "Present her to the bodies. Then we'll see if the guilt is in her."

'_Bodies? As in more than one dead person? What, do they think I went on a rampage?'_ Michi complained inwardly, before being jerked to her feet and thrown towards the box.

Yukio grasped the back of her neck and forced her head inside the box.

The color drained from her face as Michi tried to push away from the shredded bodies. Their faces were slashed to bits; nothing could identify the two but the clothes they were wearing. Michi stumbled back and chocked out startled cry as she turned away from the corpses.

Yukio grabbed her arms and spun her back to face the box again.

" Stop. I've seen enough." Michi gagged, while fighting her stomach's desire to relieve itself of its contents.

" Can't stand to see what you've done in the light of day?" Yukio gloated.

"I could not and did not do that." Michi looked to Ran hoping to find sympathy in the man's eyes, but he wouldn't look at her.

"Who is the woman?" Koi asked.

Michi dug her feet in the ground as Yukio shoved her towards the box. "I do not need to look again. The woman is Nia, I recognize the kimono, I made it for her."

" That's a very nice kimono for servant. Why did you make such a thing for her?" Koi continued his questions.

"I made it at my husband's request." Michi admitted subdued.

"Did it make you angry that he was sleeping with your servant?" Koi stepped forward and pointed for Yukio to sit down in his seat.

Yukio brushed by Michi, sat down and smiled, satisfied at the job the Koi was doing.

Michi knew she was trapped; however she answered, she was dead. If she said 'no' then she was really in trouble, but if she said 'yes' she had motive for murder. "I didn't know that they were sleeping together."

" Michi, you expect us to believe that, when the whole town knows you delivered their child?" Koi arched his eyebrow and circled Michi. "You knew, Michi. And I think, you were angry about it. Angry enough to kill."

"I would not kill, it's wrong. And I could not kill like that, I'm not strong enough." Michi defended.

"You killed my brother's son!" Yukio yelled out.

Michi glared at the man, "I did not. The baby was born dead, there was nothing I could do."

Koi held his hand up for Yukio to relax. "You say it's wrong to kill. But isn't it wrong to lie as well, Michi? What does the Enlightened One say about that?"

"It is also wrong to attack a defenseless woman, why does no one defend that?" Michi bowed her head, trying to at least appear submissive.

"Good point." Koi applauded and walked over to the body. "And I think you're right, you couldn't have killed Ryu like this. You're much too weak to fight him... Unless... Unless you poisoned him..." Koi looked at Michi, than turned to the Elders. "We know this woman is fluent in the ways of healing herbs, and with the power to heal comes the power to kill."

"No! I did not do this! I would never use what I learned for harm." Michi dropped to her knees before the Elders. "When have you ever seen me cause harm?"

" Weren't you caring for Nia, when she was bearing a child for Ryu?" Koi thundered over Michi.

"I didn't do anything to her, the baby just wasn't strong enough to live!" Michi argued.

"But were you caring for Nia?"

"Yes, but I've cared for many women during their pregnancies and they and their children are fine.

Koi hoisted Michi to her feet. "Woman, I believe that you are lying. How could you care for the woman who was taking away your husband?"

"It is my duty to care for..." Michi started quietly.

"But it didn't bother you to watch them together? To know that she'd replaced you in his heart."

"I didn't let it affect the way I treated..."

"But the unfaithfulness in your own house, under your roof; that didn't eat away at your soul?" Koi leaned in closer to Michi.

"No. I didn't let it..."

"The fact that she received his affections and you didn't; that didn't bother you?!?"

Michi lost her temper, "What affection? The man nearly killed me when I bore him a daughter! He never cared for me, why should I have feelings for him!?!"

Koi smiled cruelly and looked at the Elders, "My fellow Elders is that enough proof for you? I know it is for me."

Michi blinked. _'What just happened? I didn't like him so I killed him?'_

" Michi, step forward." Ran called to her. "I will give you one last chance for some form of mercy in death, if you will take responsibility for your crime."

Michi felt tears gather in her eyes at the loss of her hope. "What mercy would you give me?"

"We would allow you to die as a lady. Your body would remain hidden from the eyes of men." Ran answered and glared sharply at Yukio's attempt at an argument.

Michi shook her head and chuckled humorlessly. "What is a body; but a temporary shell. Besides, you've all seen my body before, when Ryu whipped me in front of you. I committed no crime; Buddha knows it and so do you." Her eyes narrowed at the men.

" There you see what my brother was cursed with?" Yukio jumped to his feet. "I say death by fire. We shouldn't suffer this witch's bones in our soil. Who agrees?"

Michi watched the men, whose children she'd delivered or healed, one by one vote her to death by fire. _'Really ugly, Mother.'_ Michi thought miserably.

Yukio strode up to her and grabbed her hair. "This way the gods will know a whore is being offered to them." He drew his dagger and sliced her hair off at the hair band.

Michi's now less-than-shoulder length hair fell around her face, sticking to the streaks of silent tears. "I can't believe, you're doing this to me." Her voice barely above a whisper as the Yukio tied her hands behind her back. "After everything..."

Yukio and Koi dragged her to a pole and tied her hands over her head.

"Why would you think I could do this?" Michi's voice was getting steadily louder.

They secured her feet to the pole and Yukio raised his dragger to her throat, than slowly began to cut away her kimono.

" Don't do this! Please! I sacrificed my blood to the hawk-demon for you! I risked my life for you! Please don't do this! I'm begging you!" Michi screeched throwing her body from one side to the other trying to get away from Yukio and his merciless cutting.

Koi held Michi still for the most part as Yukio finished cutting away Michi's kimono and two of the other men stacked dry wood around her feet. Yukio laughed as he pulled the fabric away from Michi revealing her scared flesh to all the men in attendance.

Michi choked out another sob, but couldn't force any words to come out of her mouth.

" Death for death." Yukio set fire to the kimono and threw it into the pile of wood, which caught the small sticks on fire instantly.

* * *

Miroku was not light. That was Inuyasha's opinion of the monk at the moment. When Inuyasha said he was going back for Michi, Miroku wouldn't be left behind. Too bad the idiot couldn't quite walk yet. It made sense; Miroku hadn't really moved in three days, his muscles were stiff and unresponsive. Inuyasha paused his race back to Michi's and sniffed the air.

"I smell smoke." He stated in a deadpan tone.

Miroku held on Inuyasha's shoulders, "Then don't stop. I'll be able to walk once I have my staff."

Inuyasha nodded and sped down the hill towards the back of the house. He looked at the crowd and noticed that they were dragging Michi to a pole. Shit. They were running out of time. He got them in the back of the house, without the crowd noticing them. "I don't see why I can't just kill 'em."

Miroku slid off Inuyasha's back and caught his breath. "Michi would be heartbroken if people were killed because of her. I'd like to do this my way." Miroku reached for his staff and noticed Michi's prayer beads on the floor. He stuffed them in one of his pockets.

" Whatever. We try it your way, but I'm saving her one way or another. I'm not listening to that brat cry anymore." Inuyasha looked at Miroku's unsteady stance. "Can you even stand long enough to pull this off?"

Miroku nodded. "Have faith."

" Don't do this! I'm begging you!" Michi's scream impaled the men's ears.

Miroku and Inuyasha walked out of the house and into the crowd in time to hear Yukio's announcement. "Death for death."

"May I ask what is going on here?" Miroku requested of the Elders, purposefully keeping his eyes away from Michi, fearing he'd lose his temper.

" Hello Houshi-sama." One of the older men greeted him. "I am sorry you've come upon us at this time. We are putting a murderess to death."

"I see." Miroku scratched his chin and looked at Yukio noting that the other man didn't recognize him. Miroku walked over to the box and looked down, steeling himself not to react. "I do hope that she's not being killed over these two." He gave a pitying look to the Elders.

"Why, yes, Houshi-sama. That is her husband and her husband's lover." Another man answered.

Miroku forced himself to ignore Michi's whimpering as the fire licked her feet and lower legs and continued to address the Elders. "She didn't kill these two, a hawk-demon did. I saw it with my own eyes."

Yukio examined Miroku more seriously. "You lie."

Miroku arched his eyebrow and looked at Inuyasha. "You see I told you, we should have asked the village for help when we hunted the demon. Now, they're going to kill this woman over our mistake."

"It's your karma, not mine. Demons don't have souls." Inuyasha cracked his knuckles.

"You saw the hawk-demon kill these two; than pursued it?" Ran asked.

"No, we killed it." Inuyasha snorted.

"You rid us of the hawk-demon? Then we are most grateful." Ran smiled and rose to shake Miroku's hand, but the monk didn't accept it.

"I'm afraid that I'm not allowed to touch anyone until I've purified myself from this action." Miroku folded his arms inside his sleeves.

"Of course. What can we give to you for doing this service for us?" Ran offered.

"A life for a life." Miroku pointed to Michi and felt his heart drop. He had to force himself to stay focused and not kill the men in front of him. _' I should just suck them all in the wind tunnel; no one would miss them. Bastards.'_

"Of course. Houshi-sama." Ran snapped to the men. "Men put out the fire."

" Don't bother." Miroku waved his hand. "Inuyasha?" He motioned his hand towards Michi.

The hanyou nodded and leapt to the back of the pole. He sliced the ropes, ignoring the sting of the fire and appeared around the front of the pole in time to catch Michi safely in his arms. He walked back to Miroku, with the whimpering woman, keeping her hidden with the sleeves of his kimono.

Miroku had taken part of his robe off and motioned for Inuyasha to set Michi down. After she was on the ground, Miroku wrapped the cloth around her and whispered in the scholar's tongue. "Say the word and none of them live."

Michi shook her head and pleaded in the same tongue. "All I want is my daughter."

Miroku nodded and stood up straight as Inuyasha gathered Michi up in his arms.

" Gentlemen, you should be more careful with your judgments. You almost killed an innocent woman." Miroku warned.

" Houshi-sama, I hope you will bring this woman back when she heals. For it is custom here for the wife of a fallen man to be taken into the house of the fallen man's brother." Yukio called to Miroku.

Miroku narrowed his eyes, than got a more passive look before turning around to face Ryu's brother. "This woman will be better off with me."

Inuyasha was still walking and Miroku fell in step with him and gloated. " See that wasn't so hard."

"I can't believe that worked." Inuyasha shook his head not believing their luck.

" Miroku! You liar! You're Michi's cousin!" Yukio screeched.

"Run. Fast." Miroku found his running legs in nothing flat and two sped off towards the woods.

* * *

**Original Reviewer Responses:**

**Review Responses:**

**Neatobeans:** Here you are. New chapter. Yup I woke up Miroku, though he was kinda grumpy about his wake-up call. So I guess I answered your question right off the bat! Thank you so much for the wonderful review! I always appreciate them! Hope you liked this chapter too!

**The perpetually perky GC-anime frEAK!:** Okay first of all thanks for the review! I so appreciate it! As far as I know its Kirara in the original anima and manga and Kilala in the dubbed version, which shows on Cartoon Network. That's all I know anyway. Hope it clears things up. Love the new name, very cute! So glad you liked the chapter...yeah I thought that last bit was funny, that's how I wanted it. I hope you liked this part as well.

**Nuklear Firefly:** Thanks for the welcome back and your review. I so appreciate you taking the time to write it up! Well Michi's not too happy with me, of course that's nothing new. Hope you liked this part too!

**Incoherence**: I loved writing up that whole last scene I thought it would be nice little humor bit to break up all the drama in the story...though Kagome isn't too thrilled. Thank you so much for complimenting my writing skills, I'm so glad you're enjoying this piece. And thank you for complimenting my use of the spiritual stuff, I wanted to keep it as accurate and interesting as possible, Mythology classes so come in handy!!!

I'm sorry about the long wait between chapters, but I was up to neck, with homework. I still am, but muse got to me and kicked me into gear. See Michi's still alive...I may not be once she gets a hold of me, but I'm sure I can out run her...maybe. No Sango/Miroku this time, but it'll be their in the next bit, I promise. Thanks again for reviewing. I hope you liked this chapter as well!

**Lachesis**: Thank you for your very kind words, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. Thanks so much for taking the time. I hope you continue to read and enjoy the piece! By the way you were my 100th review...THANK YOU!!!

**WildfireDreams:** Yup he's awake. Ryu is not. And Michi...well I think she needs therapy after all I've put her through....Thanks so much for the review. I hope you liked this part too!

**Araki-chan:** Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you liked this chapter too. You'll have to keep reading to see how it turns out.

**Blades of Ice:** Well yup he's awake. A little grouchy about being dropped on his head, but okay. Thanks so much for writing a review for me!! I hope you liked this chapter too!

**Dreamseeker:** "Stay out of trouble or get into lots, whichever comes first!" Look see Michi's fine...um Yeah I'm so on her hit list!!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to review and tell me what you liked. And of course I'll write another story. I always have another up my sleeve I just have to pound an idea into a plot. I always love getting your reviews they are always so neat. Love ya, sweets!!

**Jaid Skywalker:** Ack! Yes people are very strange. Glad you liked the chapter. Michi's always in danger; have you checked out her famliy? LOL I love, LOVE the little scenes you come up with they are so great! This one was so funny! I'm still partial to the other one, but this is so great too! Thanks for taking the time to review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

**Hikari:** Yes, yes...the Miroku is awake, but he's a bit on the grumpy side after that rude awakening. Tanaya's still quite upset, which really has Michi pissed at me.

Ah, so that's where she got too the other day! Taylor has a tendency to wander here, there and everywhere. Looks over her shoulder Thought she's really mad at me over that last scene...but hey, she'll relax soon enough...maybe. Her and Michi were munching on the brownies, but Taylor kept stealing all the walnuts...Oh well. Glad you and Taylor are friends. Hope she doesn't cause too much trouble in your neck of the woods!

Ack, it was job and I'll find a much better one!!

Thank you so much for as always, wonderful reviews!!! They so brighten up my day. Thank you for taking the time that you do. I hope you enjoyed this part as well!!


	15. pt14

**Authoress' notes:** Okay! Here is the next part...it's been through several transformations and I think I'm finally completely happy with it. Thank you so much to everyone who's been reviewing, you guys light up my life! Well I don't have much to say about this part it pretty much speaks for itself. So I hope ya'll like it!

Smiles -T.A.

* * *

**Family Ties: Part 14

* * *

**

Sango watched out the window of the room they'd been given by the innkeeper. She had a bad feeling about the whole situation. She should have been the one to go back with Inuyasha for Michi. She'd tried to convince Miroku to stay with Kagome and Tanaya, but he'd insisted that he had to go back, himself.

Miroku had been very disoriented after hitting the ground. Sango had noted that his first question was "Why am I on the ground?" His confusion seemed completely genuine; there was no snappy comeback to his 'mistreatment' or half-hearted apology due to his wandering hands.

The moment Miroku spoke Tanaya started shrieking for him, throwing her body from side to side, trying to get free of the blanket and Inuyasha. Her frantic shrieks dissolved into desperate tears as she called for Miroku, who was trying to stand up.

Miroku called for Inuyasha to bring Tanaya to him. He gathered the sobbing child in his arms and tried to comfort her.

Miroku asked Inuyasha why they'd left Michi's home. The hanyou told him that Michi had sent them away, because Ryu had been murdered and the town's Elders were coming for her.

Tanaya whimpered at the news and clung tighter to Miroku's neck. She sobbed that she'd never see her mommy again and that she was going to be all alone.

Miroku shook his head and told Tanaya that she would be fine and that he would go get her mother.

Sango had pointed out his weakened condition told him and that she should be the one to go back with Inuyasha. Miroku had simply shook his head motioned for her to come towards him. Sango knelt beside him and Miroku placed Tanaya in her arms.

"Take good care of her." He'd whispered to her, his lips brushing over her cheek. "I need to know she's safe and with you, I'll know that."

She'd felt herself blush, but managed a small nod.

Miroku had forced himself to his feet, but he wasn't very steady. Inuyasha threw the monk on his back and the two disappeared towards Michi's home.

Sango and the others had found the inn quite easily and were waiting there for Inuyasha and Miroku to return with Michi. Tanaya was sitting despondently in the corner, while Shippou was trying to make her smile. Kagome was cleaning her wounds and muttering to herself.

'_Why had Miroku been so insistent on going back with Inuyasha? Was it to control Inuyasha or did the he know something that he wasn't telling them?'_ Sango bit her lip; she should have stayed with Michi.

" They'll get there in time." Kagome assured Sango from her seat on the ground.

Sango sat down next to Kagome and nodded. "How are you feeling?"

Kagome shrugged, "I'm okay, but I know why people don't travel with injuries like these. I hurt all over." She winced and rubbed her side.

"Did the wounds re-open?"

"Only on the edges a bit. I'll be fine." Kagome closed her eyes and leaned against the beam of the wall.

"I'm sorry." Sango dropped her head against her knees. Kohaku had caused her friend all this pain. How would she ever atone for everything he...

Kagome patted Sango's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault."

Sango lifted her head and nodded, but didn't say anything. Shippou had finally succeeded in making Tanaya laugh. He made faces and floated above the giggling little girl, in his pink-bubble form.

" Naraku's not anywhere near here anymore. At least I don't think so." Kagome sighed and sipped some water from her canteen. "I can't sense any jewel shards, like I could before. I think he's biding his time."

Sango kept her voice down, mindful of the children in the room. "Why do you think that?"

" Naraku's careful and whatever Miroku used to seal the wind tunnel in Michi's hand, must have been powerful, you said the light hurt Naraku. I don't think he'll mess with us for a while, not directly anyway." Kagome looked at the demon exterminator from the corner of her eye.

"It looked that way, the power of the light, I mean. Naraku _was_ trying to get away from it." Sango understood where Kagome was going with this. "And he's got no idea where that power came from in Miroku, so before confronting us again, he has to test us."

"Yup, looks like it may get a bit quieter around here." Kagome smiled thoughtfully.

The door of the room came crashing down and the Inuyasha, Miroku, and Michi entered the room.

"You didn't need to kick the door in." Miroku complained.

"Get off my back. We're in a hurry!" Inuyasha growled. "Get up, we have to go, now!"

" Mommy!" Tanaya squealed and raced towards her mother, who was being placed on the ground.

Michi tried to stand but the pain in her feet, didn't allow her stay upright. She crashed down into a sitting position, just as Tanaya threw herself in Michi's awaiting arms. "It's alright, Angel. Mommy's here." Michi held her daughter close.

" Mommy, they said that Father's been murdered. Is he really dead?" Tanaya questioned.

"Yes, Angel, I'm afraid your father's gone." Michi smoothed the hair away from her daughter's face.

"Why are we here instead of home?" Tanaya questioned.

Michi hugged her daughter tightly, "Because, we have to leave this place. It isn't safe for us anymore."

"But I want to stay." Tanaya whimpered.

" Tanaya, we have to go. I'm very sorry." Michi kissed the top of Tanaya's head. "I love you so much, Tanaya. I'm so sorry."

"We gotta go." Inuyasha scooped Kagome into his arms. "Kirara, a little help, with the rest of the load?"

The little fire-cat transformed and allowed Miroku to put Michi and Tanaya on her back.

"Load huh?" Kagome half-growled.

" Yeah, load. If you got a problem with that, you can just go ahead and sit me. We'll see how you like it." He huffed and sniffed the air. "They're closin' in. We gotta go. Miroku, can you still walk?"

"I've got him." Sango looped her arm around his waist.

Miroku looked quite startled at Sango's fast action, then he got a devilish smile.

"That hand goes anywhere it isn't supposed to and you won't have to worry about finding a woman to bear your child." Sango growled quietly to the monk.

" Won't be able to have any huh?" He raised his eyebrows playfully.

Sango shook her head, but smiled and the group took off into the forest.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Shippou cried out behind them.

* * *

They'd traveled until nearly sunset, then finally made camp, as the last rays of the sun were disappearing. The whole group was exhausted from the hard traveling. Kagome broke into her stash of instant Ramen for dinner that night; it was a lot easier than trying to prepare something from scratch. Kirara had curled up, and fallen asleep at Sango's feet, while the rest of them had been eating. Inuyasha was already perched in a tree for the night, his eyes opening occasionally at some slight sound his ears had picked up on. Kagome laying flat on her back, sound out asleep with Shippou nestled against her left side contently dreaming. Sango was leaning against a tree, halfway between sleep and consciousness. Miroku was also using a tree to support his back. Michi was using his chest as a pillow and Tanaya was cradled protectively in her arms. Miroku brushed one of Michi's shorter locks of hair away from her face and tried to relax.

Michi opened her eyes and winced slightly.

"Are you in pain?" He asked.

She nodded slowly. "I need to treat my legs and my back, it feels like there's wood in it."

Miroku rubbed her shoulder. "I'll help. Sit up a bit, I can get Sango to watch Tanaya."

" Okay." Michi sat up slowly and kept Tanaya still in her arms.

Miroku crept up on Sango and touched the side of her face. When her eyes opened he held his fingers to his lips.

She understood the meaning and looked at him expectantly.

"I need to treat Michi's injuries. Can you watch over Tanaya for me?" He requested.

Sango nodded, she wasn't quite awake.

Miroku lifted Tanaya into his arms and carried her to Sango. He placed Tanaya in Sango's arms. "Thank you." He whispered. He was about to move away when Tanaya's eyes opened.

" Miko?" She wondered sleepily.

"It's okay, Angel. I just need you to keep Sango warm for me." Miroku informed the little girl.

Sango was awake enough to get the idea and managed a little shiver.

Tanaya nodded, nestled herself into Sango, to make sure they both stayed warm.

Miroku smiled and kissed Tanaya's cheek. "Goodnight, Angel." He moved away a bit when he heard Tanaya insist.

"Her too." Tanaya yawned before explaining, "She needs a goodnight kiss."

' _Well, shouldn't argue with the child. I mean after all she'll go to sleep much easier if I don't.' _Miroku brushed his lips gently over Sango's cheek. "Goodnight."

Sango's eyes snapped open, shocked at the monk's actions. _'This whole family's against me, even the little one.'_ She watched him walk away with Michi towards the river they'd found early that night.

* * *

Michi stumble slightly as they reached a small stream. She lowered herself to the forest floor. "This is far enough, right?" She pleaded quietly.

Miroku looked back at the camp. "It should be." He looked up at the sky, thankful for the nearly full moon and its light. "Believe me, if it's not. We'll get an earful." He knelt next to his cousin. "Which first?"

"My legs, they're probably worse." She winced; rolling up the robes Miroku had given her a little above her knees.

Sure enough her legs were badly brunt. Miroku shook his head. "You shouldn't have walked."

"It wasn't so far." Michi tried to smile. "I'm not that lazy."

Miroku didn't rise to the joke; instead he soaked a cloth and started wiping the dirt away from Michi's legs and feet. "These burns are bad."

"I know they are my legs." Michi smirked.

Miroku looked up at her an angry expression settling on his face. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that, that was my attempt at a joke."

" That's not what I meant. And you know it." Miroku wiped off part of her legs and some of the skin came off.

Michi hissed in pain. "Ow. I'm sorry. I'll talk to you, just don't inflict more pain on me, I'm in enough."

He looked up into his cousin's eyes, mournful he'd caused he any more pain than she'd already gone through. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know, Love." Michi winced again, before sighing. "What did you mean?"

"I want to know why you stayed behind."

"I was trying to protect my daughter." Michi closed her eyes.

"How were you going to protect her, if you were dead?" Miroku took the ointment he'd borrowed from Kagome, and applied it to Michi's legs. She made another complaining sound.

"I hadn't planned that far ahead. "Michi admitted. "I didn't kill him." She whispered nearly inaudibly.

Miroku finished wrapping her legs with clean bandages. "I know you didn't."

Michi half-smiled, "I know, you know. I just wanted someone to agree with me. I never loved him, but I didn't hate, at least, not most of the time."

"I wouldn't hold it against you, if you'd hated him every moment." Miroku huffed and leaned back on his heels.

Michi shook her head. "I couldn't really hate him all the time. It seemed like too much energy wasted on him. Isn't that sad? My own husband wasn't important enough for me to even hate." Her voice was soft and reflective.

"When did you find out about Nia?"

Michi closed her eyes, "When Nia turned up pregnant and Ryu was very understanding."

" Liar." Miroku stated.

Michi opened one eye, "They were each others company the entire time she was there. Nia came into the house, before you visited last. You just didn't notice her."

"And you weren't upset?" Miroku purposeful ignored her attempt at another joke.

Michi shrugged, "Why should I be? I couldn't change it. Besides Ryu didn't want to marry me, he was as forced into it as I was." Michi huffed and snapped the twig in her hand. "I was a bet."

" Excuse me?" Miroku questioned.

"I was a bet. My father wagered me in a game of chance with Ryu's father. When Ryu's father won he panicked because of our family's standings in Kyoto. So he married me off to his younger son." Michi jumped as Miroku pinched her shoulder. "Ouch. What was that for?" She complained.

Miroku's eyes shifted back to the camp, than moved behind her. "Let's look at your back."

Michi looked over her shoulder at Miroku. "I take it they don't know and you don't want them to."

" There's no reason for them to know."

"What if you get near the Kyoto? You'll be recognized; you look he used to." Michi argued as she compared him to their grandfather.

"I cross bridges when I come to them and not before." Miroku rubbed the top of Michi's shoulder. "We should get your back cleaned up. We need to rest; we'll be traveling hard tomorrow too."

Michi nodded and untied the robes, letting the back fall, while holding the front up against her chest. "I've got blood all over these."

" It'll clean." He shook his head in disgust at the scars that ran all over her back. _'What the hell did Ryu do to you?'_

"Are they that bad?" Michi whispered.

"No, I was just shocked at how many there are. How did he do it?" Miroku cleaned one section of her back.

"With a whip." Michi bit her lip as it quivered.

"Damn Naraku."

" Excuse me?"

"I'm just wishing that I could have been the one to kill Ryu. Kohaku's the one that did; I could tell by the wounds on the bodies." Miroku found a splinter and pulled it out with the tweezers, another item borrowed from Kagome. "Kohaku uses a sickle-like weapon; he..."

"He's Sango's brother. They told me, while you were sleeping."

"I hear I did a lot of that."

" Three days worth." Michi clenched her teeth. Her whole body started to quake as she felt Miroku finish cleaning her back.

He pulled the robes back up over her shoulders. "Michi, are you alright? You're shacking."

Michi tied the robes and shook her head as she let out an anguished cry. " I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm Sorry." She whispered over and over. "You spoke your own cure and I can't remember it." Her voice broke and she sobbed mournfully.

Miroku wrapped his arms around Michi and held her as she cried. "Shh. Shh. It's alright." He kissed the top of her head. "I'll be fine. I just have to defeat Naraku. _I'm sorry_, I brought him down on you."

Michi drew in a shaky breath as she sniffled. "Oh, he probably would have figured out that I wasn't affected by the curse and come for me sooner or later."

"What did he mean by an offer, Michi?" Miroku asked, quietly.

Michi shrugged her shoulders; grateful Miroku couldn't see her face. " I'm not sure."

"Fair enough." Miroku smoothed her hair away from her face. "Now we really look alike."

" Especially with the matching outfits." Michi grinned and sat up. She wiped off her face and kissed Miroku's cheek, "Thank you, for saving me, Love."

"I owed you one." Miroku sighed and hugged her. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

"Not your fault." Michi assured him. She sniffed and let a few tears roll down her face. "I just realized, that I have no idea where to go now."

" Don't worry about it. I'll take care of everything." Miroku wiped the tears off her face and held her face there for another moment. "Michi, I know about the other child."

"Nia and Ryu's son? The child was still-born."

"No, I mean your second daughter." Miroku argued.

Michi arched her left eyebrow, "Second daughter? I only had Tanaya."

Miroku sighed and solemnly told her, "I found the paper."

" Paper?"

Miroku narrowed his eyebrows, "Please, don't pretend to be confused. The paper, that says you dug her up and..."

" Found her little neck broken." Michi finished. " Miroku, that was from a legend I found in this area."

Miroku blinked digesting the information. "In that case, I'm very glad I slew the hawk-demon, instead of avenging you."

"Me too." Michi snickered in relief. "Either way, Ryu did get his in the end, though I feel bad for him. No one deserves to die like that."

"I'm going to argue with you there." Miroku stood to his feet and stretched, before extending his hand to his cousin. "Come on, we've got a long path to travel tomorrow."

"On that note; where are we going?" Michi questioned standing on shaky legs.

* * *

**Original Reviewer Responses:**

**Neatobeans:** Of course they saved Michi...I couldn't let her die like that! I'm so glad you liked the chapter! I hope you enjoyed this one too. Thanks for reviewing!

**Nuklear Firefly: **Of course I appreciate your reviews! They brighten my day! Thanks for taking the time to write them! I'm so glad you liked the chapter. Yes Miroku is conniving and you have to love him for it! Anyways I hope you like this chapter too!

**Incoherence**: Yeah Michi's rather glad I didn't kill her either. Yes, Yukio bad; interesting punishment...I'll have use that in a later tale...that would be really painful!

Thank you so much for complimenting the pacing and style of my story...I'm so glad it's not getter boring or repetitive, I was afraid of that. I'm so glad that I'm keeping your interest!

Michi's still a bit grouchy, but yeah she loves Miroku being overprotective too, she wasn't too thrilled about being burned to death.

See Sango/Miroku moments...two really...if you count Sango's recollections!! I'm so glad you're enjoying this fic and that you loved the last chapter. I hope this one was up to standards too!

Thanks again for taking the time to review.

**WildfireDreams:** I'm glad you took the time to review. I hope you enjoyed this one too!

**Blades of Ice:** I'm glad you loved the chapter, thanks for reviewing and saying so! Yeah Michi's gonna need some major therapy. I liked writing that whole scene with Inuyasha and Miroku saving her, it was a lot of fun! I hope you liked this part sorry it took so long to update!

**Jaid Skywalker:** Tashana looks in her dictionary Nope jerkiness is officially yours! And yeah they are not a nice group...family reunions must be a _fun_.

I love the fact that my stories inspire humor! I love the scenes you write! Thank you so much for sharing this last one! I was laughing out loud! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! Thanks for taking the time to review and write that wonderful scene!!!

Try this:

Kagome: Inuyasha, have you seen my anatomy book?

Inuyasha: I don't keep tract of your books!

Kagome: _Inuyasha!_ Every time I come here with my anatomy book I can't find it until I'm a about to home. Doesn't that seem a little odd to you?

Inuyasha: grunts defeated Fine what does this book look like?

Kagome: It's the green one, with the picture of the bones on it.

Inuyasha: Oh, that one. I've seen Miroku with it. Why would he want your 'natomy book?

Kagome: It's _a_natomy and it explains the body's parts and their functions...Trails off as the vein in her forehead starts to stick out MIROKU!!!!

Hee..hee... that was fun!!

**Hikari: **Opens eyes wide Well, um no, but you two have fun cleaning up the streets!

I'm so glad you enjoyed that chapter. I really enjoyed that line that Miroku said too, I came up with it because I was trying to show how made he was without saying "Miroku was so mad..." It's very cliché to do that and I didn't want to.

About the drawing: don't worry about it. As much as I would love to see it, I can be patient. I hope everything's going better for you sweetie. E-mail me if you need to chat.

I hope you liked this chapter! I'm glad you enjoyed the last! Thanks for taking the time to review and.... (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") Dancing Kirbies for you! For identifying the cameo!! Nice job!!! Anyways, I hope you like this part!

**Chris-Redfield26:** I'm so glad that you like this story! Yes, it is most defiantly long, with this part it's about 71pgs. Yeah, he lied, but he had the best of intentions doing so. Anyways I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I hope you liked this part too!! Thanks for taking the time to review!

**Kaylana:** Yup, defiantly being chased, but yeah, everybody's okay more or less. Okay now think about this for a moment: Yukio is related to Ryu was married to Michi, now Ryu probably heard a lot of conversations that went on between Miroku and Michi and Ryu probably figured out that Miroku wasn't the most honest person and complained to his brother....or look at it this way, wouldn't you lie to save one of your cousins from being brunt alive?? Hope that cleared things up! I hope you liked this chapter too. Thanks for reviewing!

**WarriorGL:** Welcome back! It's okay that you haven't reviewed in a while, I've missed your reviews, but I won't hold it against ya.

Eep. I'm sorry your not doing well in school at the moment. I hope your doing better now! gives a big encouraging hug Good luck!!!!

Thank you so much your compliments of my story and writing ability. I'm so glad that you're enjoying it. I defiantly put a lot of work into to plotting this piece and I'm so glad that it's working out!

I try to draw as much realism as I can when I write and weave in my person experiences. Yeah I know what you mean about the 'horror of the experience' I know how a person feels in those shoes and I tried to capture it as honestly as possible.

I'm glad that you like this tale of mine. I'm sorry about not updating sooner, but I've been very busy! Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!! Thanks for the review!

**Meow the chibi neko:** looks over her plans for future stories Nope don't need Yukio anymore, you can kill him...but please clean up after you're done. Well I hope you're enjoying the story. And I hope you liked this part too! Thanks for taking the time to review.

**Dreamseeker: **You almost didn't get your review in, in time to get a response. Sorry about your minions...They can attack the elders if they want, I don't need them anymore. Anyways, Thank you so much for your delightful review as always. I'm so touched at your kind words. Thank you for the compliments!! I'll hope you see you soon! I'm glad you liked this chapter. Thanks for commenting on the structure by the way, I wasn't sure if that was gonna sound right. Naw, go ahead and get into lots of trouble. Hope you liked this chapter too! Love ya lots, sweets!


	16. pt15

**Authoress' Notes:** Well I originally decided to make this the last part, but...it isn't. I really like this part. I'm not sure about the entire first scene, but I love the second scene...you'll see Anyways. I wanted to thank all of you for reviewing. I'm so glad you liked this. I would also like to say how sorry I am that this took so long to put up. My end of the year stuff was killer and job-hunting is now my full-time engagement... So I've been a bit busy, but the next part won't take nearly as long to put up.

Oh and thanks to anyone who read, **"Hiding"** and reviewed it...THANK YOU!! – Note on that one, I'm going to be adding to that one and fixing it up; I found errors in it. Eek.... ANYWAYS, I'm so proud to present the next installment of **"Family Ties"** Everyone enjoy it!! Please read and review. And as always review responses are at the bottom.

Smiles - T.A.

**EDIT - At this point in the edit I started altering the chapter structure a bit. I think it flows a bit better this way.

* * *

**

**Family Ties: Part 15

* * *

**

With two injured and two children the day's worth of nearly non-stop walking hadn't been easy on the group. Shippou and Tanaya had spent the day chasing each other and playing other games along the trail. Inuyasha had carried Kagome in his arms, trying to ease the pain of her injuries. Michi had ridden on Kirara; she was trying to keep off her feet as much as possible. Sango and Miroku had walked ahead of the group scouting the roads and keeping watch over the children. Now they were started to bed down for the night. The sun had long since set and they'd already eaten; Kagome's bag hadn't ever been so light. Sango had left a while ago to go scout the roads; she would have gone alone, since she wanted Kirara to rest, but Shippou had tagged along behind her.

"Are you warm enough, little one?" Miroku asked Tanaya as he tucked a blanket around her and settled her in his arms.

"Yes, but, Miko, could you tell me some more of the story?" Tanaya pleaded quietly.

Miroku glanced at his friends, then down at his 'niece's' expectant face. "Of course, where were we?"

"The group had just heard a rumor about the Spirit stone coming from a lake inside a mountain, and they were traveling there to see if it was true."

' _Damn. I didn't realize I was that far along. This is where Sango comes in. How am I going to describe her?'_ Miroku thought half-panicked, but he managed to look completely calm and simply agreed with Tanaya. "Ah, yes, that was where we were."

Tanaya smiled brightly and waited for her 'uncle' to begin.

Miroku cleared his throat, "Now, the group had heard a rumor that the Spirit stone had come from a lake inside a mountain. The Black Mountain held within it the legendary Crystal Lake that had given birth to the Spirit stone."

"Wow. A lake made of crystal."

"Yes it was quite amazing and beautiful. Now there also was a village of protectors that lived at the base of the Black Mountain. They guarded the Crystal Lake for it had been a holy woman born from their people that had caused the Crystal Lake to be formed and the Stone to be created. In this village there was the bravest and strongest protector of them all, she was..." Miroku paused as he tried to figure out how he was going to describe Sango, not to mention Kirara. He drew a deep breath and as if an answer to his prayer the little fire-cat began to play with Sango's dragon-scale knife sharpener. _'Ah-ha. Kirara, you are now a dragon, but what would a dragon listen to...'_ Miroku thought, before a little voice interrupted.

"Was what? What was she?" Tanaya questioned.

" Patience." Miroku tapped her nose before continuing, " She was a Water Goddess and ever at her side was Dragon that could change forms."

"Like Kirara?"

"Yes, just like Kirara. Together they helped guard the Lake with the protectors, but the Water Goddess was tricked away from her post by one of the Ruler of Hell's minions, an evil monkey."

"Like the bad white monkey that tricked me?"

" Exactly like that, actually. Now while the Water Goddess was away, the Ruler of Hell had ascended from his lair and killed all the protectors, and took the shards of the Spirit stone, which the protectors had gathered, for himself."

"Eep! Now the Ruler of Hell is collecting the pieces too?"

"Yes and if you want to hear the rest of this..."

" Sorry Miko, I'll be quiet." Tanaya yawned and leaned against Miroku.

"It's alright." He ruffled her hair gently, before continuing the story. "So, the group of the holy princess, the warrior prince, the Child-like forest spirit and the Roguishly handsome thief finally reached the Black Mountain..."

Miroku continued the story with little to no interruption. He yawned quietly as he finished the section of the story. "The warrior prince didn't mind the Water Goddess traveling with him, for he was sympathetic to her pain. The holy princess was glad to have the company of another woman. The Child-like forest spirit enjoyed the company of the Dragon, since they could play, when the Dragon was in its chibi form. However the Water Goddess and the thief were not getting along very well, since he kept stealing her gold chains that hung down from her belt. But they were learning to get along slowly but surely. And..."

" Miroku, she's sound asleep." Michi interrupted quietly.

Miroku looked down at the child to find her indeed sleep. Her face looked completely peaceful with her slightly opened mouth and her eyelashes making tiny dark-crescent moons under her eyes. Tanaya shifted and balled her fist under her chin as she rubbed her cheek against his chest. "So, she is." He smiled down at the little girl, and tucked her hair back behind her ear.

Michi chuckled at the scene, than asked Kagome, "Are you feeling alright?"

" Yeah, just tired." Kagome yawned and rolled her neck.

"I don't know why. I carried you all damn day." Inuyasha complained from his tree perch above them.

Kagome opened her mouth to holler 'sit,' but Michi clamped her hand over Kagome's mouth.

"My daughter just fell asleep, please don't wake her up." Michi requested.

"Oh right, sorry." Kagome sheepishly responded, before asking. "How are you doing?"

"My legs are a little sore, but I should be fine." Michi smiled and patted Kagome's hand. "You should get some sleep."

"I don't want to go to bed until Sango and Shippou get back from scouting." Kagome rubbed her arms absent-mindedly.

" We're back!" Shippou announced.

" SHH!!" Michi and Kagome both hushed the excited kitsune.

Shippou looked sad for a moment before realizing that Tanaya and maybe even Miroku were already asleep. "Oops. Sorry."

"It's alright, Shippou. Where's Sango?" Kagome questioned.

Sango entered the light of the fire, "I'm right here. Doesn't look like the roads should be as rough tomorrow."

" Thank goodness." Kagome sighed. "Okay, I'm going to bed. Goodnight everyone."

"Me too." Shippou suddenly looked very sleepy. "Goodnight."

Kagome crawled into her sleeping bag and Shippou curled up next her. The two were asleep almost insistently.

"I couldn't even fall asleep that fast when I was a child." Michi complained quietly.

"I could when my father was home." Sango pulled her knees up to her chest. "I fell asleep without any worry of anything."

"My mind was always too busy. The only times I ever fell asleep like that was after I'd been chasing Miroku all day." Michi laughed softly.

Miroku opened his eyes slowly as if his eyelids were too heavy lift.

"Go back to sleep, Love. I'm not really talking about you." Michi waved her hand dismissively.

Miroku nodded and closed his eye again.

Michi yawned, "I should get some sleep too. Goodnight Sango," Michi looked up, "Inuyasha." She walked over to where her cousin was dozing and sat down beside him. She shifted Tanaya into her lap and leaned against Miroku's chest. "A Water Goddess?" She questioned very quietly.

Miroku looked down at Michi and shifted so he could wrap his left arm around her. "How else could I describe her?" He smirked, though his eyes still looked tired.

Michi rolled her eyes and made herself more comfortable.

Sango took a drink of water from Kagome's canteen and stared up at Inuyasha.

"What is it, Sango?"

She smiled at the hanyou, "Get some sleep, I'll take the first watch."

He nodded and situated himself more comfortably in the tree.

Sango was a bit restless, partly because she didn't know where they were going. Miroku hadn't been very forth coming as to where he was leading them. Sango suspected it was because he wasn't quite sure. She knew the path that lead to Kyoto was close, but was that really where they were headed? She looked to Kirara, who was chewing on her dragon-scale knife sharpener.

"I know you like using that on your teeth, but please don't dull it completely." Sango requested of the fire-cat, who promptly dropped the sharpener and trotted up to her mistress. Sango lifted Kirara into her lap and began stroking the fire-cat's white fur. "Been a hard day for you too, huh?" She asked Kirara, who simply yawned in response.

Sango scratched behind Kirara's ears, eliciting the soft purring sound that would make a person think the fire-cat wasn't dangerous at all. As Sango thought about harmless appearances, her eyes shifted instantly to the sleeping monk. Miroku looked almost gallant; with his arm looped arm his cousin, as even if in sleep he was ready to protect her. As she gazed at him for another moment, she noticed that he wasn't sleeping. He doing his best to feign sleep, but his breathing wasn't regular enough.

Miroku _was _awake on the other side of fire and he _could_ feel Sango's eyes on him, but she wasn't his concern at this particular moment. His focus was on his cousin, who was just starting to drift off to sleep. He honestly didn't know what to do with her and Tanaya.

He had four options, one of which wasn't really an option. She could not stay with him; living on the road was no life for a mother and child. Two of the options were in Kyoto and the last was...maybe his only real option, though he dreaded it. Nori lived in Kyoto as the lady of very rich house and Michiko was, well, married to her work to put it politely. He did not want Michi to live as her sister's servant or Tanaya to grow up, where she would any contact with men like him. He might have to take them to temple.

He was still a little mad at Michi, for not telling him what was going on with her husband. She should have told him; he could have helped her. _' Damn her for being so worried about everyone else that she forgot to think about herself.'_

Michi sighed softly; now she was completely out of it.

Of course, if he had known about her husband sooner, he might have brought her back to the village they'd grown up in, then she would have died in the flood. No way to win there. That situation was coming up all to often in his life right now: no way to win.

Thinking on no way to win...if he went to Kyoto he was really screwed. His family had high standings there and he didn't want his friends to know. In Kyoto, the Lord of the house his grandfather had once served, would summon him, and then he would have to weasel his way out of a reward. Strange as it may sound, he didn't want anything he hadn't worked or conned for himself. Maybe he could convince the Lord to take in Michi as the favor...doubtful. Besides Michi hated the city, she never found any peace there.

' _That brings me right back to the original problem of what to do with her.'_ Miroku moved to rub his temple with his right hand, but it bumped into to something; he froze. He opened his eyes to find the back of his hand resting against Sango's face. She blinked and her cheeks turned bright red.

"I have it on very good authority that if you sneak up on people, you get hit." He smirked.

Sango blushed clear to her ears as she managed to sputter, "I wasn't doing anything."

"I know, Sango, I was teasing." He smiled and pulled his hand away from her face.

"I thought you might like some water." She picked up the canteen, that she had accidentally dropped, and offered it to him. "I know you weren't sleeping."

"Very perceptive and yes, I would like the water, thank you." Miroku took the canteen from Sango and took a slow sip from it. He looked down at Michi, than back at Sango. "You inspire poetry." He informed the taijiya.

"What are you talking about?" Sango curled up her lip slightly.

Miroku pointed behind her and chuckled. "The firelight is behind you, it frames you with light. Just like lake at sunrise."

Her mouth dropped open and she stared in shock at the monk. " Houshi-sama..."

Miroku was now staring into the darkness. "I don't know what to do with her, Sango. She always took care of me and now I'm not sure what to do with her."

Sango followed Miroku's line of sight, but didn't see anything of interest. "We're near Kyoto."

His eyes locked with hers. "So you noticed." He cleared his throat. "Michi's two older sisters lived in Kyoto."

"I thought she had three older sisters."

"She did. Uta was the oldest of the four, but she died...in a flood. It was several years ago, it wiped out the village that Michi and I grew up in. Michi was a lot younger than her sisters, the closest one to her age was Michiko and she was seven years older."

"That why you're so close to her." Sango deduced.

" Among other things." Miroku shook his head. "Sango, get some sleep. I'm not going to get any sleep, I might as well keep watch."

Sango looked wearily at him, before sitting down beside him. "I'm going to take advantage of you..."

"By all means." He smiled brightly.

Sango pinched his arm, "I was going to say your warmth. You won't grope me with your niece sitting so close."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. I am." She leaned against him and let him put his arm around her. "Goodnight Miroku."

" Goodnight Sango."

" Goodnight to both of you." Michi's tired voice bid, causing both of them to blush.

* * *

**Original Reviewer Responses:**

**Review Responses:**

**Nuklear Firefly: **Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like that part! Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter too!

**Incoherence**: Got a moment in this chapter too! Thank you for the compliment I loved writing that scene, it was fun! I'm also glad you like the family I've created for Miroku. I wasn't sure if people would warm up to the idea, but I guess they did. YAY!!

I'm so glad that you think I'm writing this well. Thanks for all the time you take to read and review this. I hope you liked this chapter too!

**WildfireDreams:** Glad you liked the chapter. Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter too!

**Blades of Ice:** Michi's really grouchy about that being burned thing, but she'll get over it...I think. See where I sent them... Good idea: Yes/No? Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter too!

**Jaid Skywalker:** Hee, hee I fooled you!! I'm so glad that you liked the last chapter. I do want to write another story for this, maybe I'll set it in be fun kids

Really I LOVED writing that whole 'goodnight kiss' scene it was so fun! Glad you liked my little scene. I love the idea for the story. Let me know if you get it into production...I really want to read it!

Loved your little scene as always LOL.... Probably gave you major ammo for the next one. I still like the 'run' one better; I think that's just my fav! Laughs out loud thinking about it Anyways. Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter too! Also thank you for being your hyper, happy self!!

**Hikari: **So glad you liked the chapter. Thanks for the wonderful review as always. Looks downs and disappears for a moment, than smiles Someone wants to tell you something. Go ahead.

Tanaya: Turns in place, hugging the plushie Thank you, Hikari-sama for the gift. Bows and giggles before running off

Anyhow, she wanted to tell you that. Michi's thankful for the gifts, she'll put them to good use. And thank you for the hug!! I love hugs!!

Ducks her head in case of flying weapons Okay, you have fun with those... just don't put an eye out.

Now seriously: Thank you so much for your wonderful compliments. I so appreciate the time it must take to write. I try to write as honestly as I can and bring the characters to life, with actual personalities. Take your time with the drawing. I have the first one you gave me framed and hanging on my wall. It is simply the most inspiring thing that I have ever received.

So sorry about the job; we weren't supposed to match there. Good luck fellow hunter!! Smiles

**Chris-Redfield26:** I'm so glad that you enjoy my story. I put a lot of work into this and I'm so glad that people like it. Thank you so much for the compliment on my ability. I appreciate it in more than one way. I want to be a novelist.... my own story is work in progress. One day I hope to be published. Thank you so much the review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

**Jen of the Wildfire:** I'm so glad that you like this story. Michi's grateful for the doughnuts. She's learned to take anything with chocolate and enjoy it. So glad you liked that thought of Sango's I just loved writing that scene.

If you want to go after Yukio, go ahead. Just clean up when you're done.

I'm a little less busy, now. I'll try to take a look at your stories, when I can. But I way owe people reviews! But you have my word: I will send a review your way!! Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter too!

**Lil' Chi Chi:** Girl you beyond made my night the other day. I was working on an editing project for a friend of mine and I kept checking my e-mail and finding your reviews...it was great!! Thank you so much for taking all that time to review so many time and staying up to finish the story. I hope you weren't too tired the next day. I'm glad you enjoy the story. Thank you so much for being so specific in some of those reviews to tell me what you liked. Also, thank you so much for saying that you love the way I write.... It makes happy!! I'm glad you like Michi. I put a lot of effort into making her a believable and likeable character. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all that time you put into all those reviews!! THANK YOU!! I seriously hope you enjoyed this part too! (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") (")( ") Dancing Kirbies for you, 'cause you are awesome!!


	17. pt16

**Authoress' Notes: This is the altered chapter structure from this point on... but I liked it better this way and it seems to make more sense.**

**Smiles – T.A.

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**Family Ties: Part 16

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**

It was warm; the sun must have come up already. He smiled lazily and yawned as his muddled brain tried to function in the post alcohol haze. He thought he heard voices and footsteps near him.

"Wake up!" Growled a voice.

' _That was a male voice. A young voice. A familiar voice. A familiar young male voice...that narrows it down.'_

Moushin opened his eyes and realized that he was looking at two 'Miroku's. That wasn't unusual, he often saw doubles of people after a night of drinking.

"Is he dead?" A quiet voice asked.

"I don't think so." Miroku sounded annoyed.

Moushin was finally able to focus on the double image in front of him. Both of the images raised an eyebrow in confusion, except that the images raise different eyebrows, that shouldn't be possible. In fact the visions had different hair lengths. One of the 'Miroku's had his hair down. Only one had earrings. If there are differences it can't be double vision. That means there are two of him.

" AHHH!!" The older man scooted away from the two in terror.

Michi held her hand over her heart and complained. "Are you trying to scare me to death?"

Moushin glared at the young woman that he now recognized. "I thought there were two of him."

Michi looked at Miroku and nodded, "That would be a reason to panic."

Miroku gave an annoyed look at both of them. "You know that doesn't say much for either of you, since you both raised me."

Michi was looking up at the ceiling of the temple, "Moushin, this place..." Her voice was quiet.

"I know it must bring back memories..." Moushin smiled as he stood to his feet.

"It's a mess." Michi curled her lip up slightly.

Moushin fell over in disbelief.

Miroku snickered and looked down at his mentor. "You didn't really expect her not to notice that you've let this place get run down you; did you?"

"I was hoping she wouldn't make mention of it." Moushin grumbled sitting up. "What are you doing here?" He looked at Michi for a long moment. "What happened to your hair?"

"It was cut." Michi dropped her head.

"You need to sit down, your legs must still be hurting you." Miroku helped Michi to the floor than knelt down himself.

"My husband was murdered. I was blamed and Miroku saved me." Michi cleared her throat. "I need a place to stay; I have no home."

"You could travel to Michiko's home in Kyoto." Moushin pointed out.

"I have no desire to live in my sister's home and raise my daughter as a geisha." Michi folded her arms over her chest.

"It's an honorable profession, besides your family has good standings there, you'd be better off." Moushin argued.

"I'd rather raise her here, sort of." Michi rubbed her left eyebrow. " I'd rather she learned to be priestess or at least the ways of a healer."

Moushin shook his head. "I don't like the idea of a noisy child upsetting the peace of this temple, but..." Moushin touched the top of Michi's head, "I couldn't turn you away, Michi. Though I think I'm going to live to regret this." Moushin looked at Miroku, "Go get them cleaned up; they won't be able to stay in the temple without being purified." The older man stood up and started to walk away from the cousins. "I need a drink."

* * *

" Mommy what's this?" Tanaya pointed to the beam on the temple porch with lines carved into it.

Michi knelt beside her daughter and pointed to writing next to one of the marks. "What does this mean?"

Tanaya wrinkled her nose, "That's Miko's name, Miroku."

"Very good. Now, if you can pronounce your uncle's name correctly, don't you think you should?"

" Nu-uh. He said that I could forever and always call him, Miko. That it would be special 'tween us." Tanaya twirled a wet strand of hair around her finger. "But mommy, what's the mark for?"

"That mark shows how tall your Miko was when he was little." Michi trailed her finger up a little to another mark. "This one is mine."

"You were taller than, Miko?"

"When we were children, I was." Michi felt in her pockets until she found a small knife. "Here put your back to the beam."

Tanaya turned around and inhaled sharply, trying to get as much height as possible.

Michi drew the blade into the wood just over the top of her daughter's head. "Okay, now move so I can write your name."

Tanaya watched her mother carve her name into the wood. "Now I'm just like you and Miko."

Michi put the blade away and smiled at her daughter. "That's right, and you know Miroku grew up in this temple."

Tanaya suddenly looked sad, "We're never going home are we?"

Michi held out her arms to her child, "Come here, Angel." After pulling Tanaya into her arms Michi kissed the top of her head and hugged her tightly. "I know it's hard to understand, right now, but this is best place for us."

"Is home not the best place for us because father died?" Tanaya looked up at her mother, needing an answer.

" Yes." Michi nodded, feeling her throat getting tight.

" Mommy, why did you make me leave without you?"

" Because, I...Because I had to talk to your father's brother." Michi swallowed hard against the lumped that formed in her throat.

Tanaya cocked her head and examined her mother's face more carefully. " Then how come, when you came back with Inuyasha and Miko you were wearing his clothes? And why was your hair cut?"

Michi closed her eyes and pursed her lips, while she tried to think of an acceptable answer.

" Mommy." The little one insisted.

" Tanaya, do you want to hear a story before bed?" Miroku called to the questioning child.

"Oh yes, Miko! You tell the best stories!" Tanaya leapt away from her mother and raced to her 'uncle.'

Miroku smiled down at her and tapped her nose, "Go say goodnight to the others and I'll come get you."

"Okay Miko." Tanaya grinned and took off to find the others.

" Thank you." Michi sighed. "'Though she'll only ask later... Just like you, mind like a trap."

Miroku chuckled, "You'll have thought of something by the time she asks again. She's such a sweet child, gives me hope for our family."

Michi rolled her eyes, "It won't last. She'll turn thirteen and become a lying, cheating, stealing, lechering fiend like the rest of us."

"I take offence to that." Miroku was standing in his reverent, praying position.

"Oh really?" Michi arched her left eyebrow.

He opened eye and smiled devilishly. "I never cheat."

" Keh." She scoffed and gave him a powerless swat. " Go tell Tanaya her a story."

He'd reached the door, when he turned around and asked, "When we were talking earlier you said that while I was sleeping I was at the Bardo. How did you know that?"

Michi stood up slowly, "Sango saw you there in her dream. I was so afraid for you. She said that everything there was dead or dying...that there was no light."

Miroku shook his head, "But that's not how I saw it. All I saw was light, it was like a peaceful summer day."

" Then you weren't in danger." Michi smiled. "It's also a very encouraging sign, that means you have a lot of life left to live."

Miroku nodded thoughtfully, "I suppose, but if Sango saw it the way you describe; what does that mean for her?"


	18. pt17

**Authoress' Notes: GAH! I hate editing... it's a pain... Anyways...

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**Family Ties: Part 17

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**

The temple was surprisingly still for the amount of people occupying it. Inuyasha was restless to get moving again, but finally, thanks to Kagome's _suggestions_, he agreed to spend one more night away from the jewel-shard hunt. He was on the roof, on the section of the temple, away from waterfall; keeping watch for any danger. Kagome and Shippou were sound asleep in Kagome's sleeping bag. Sango had disappeared some time ago and Moushin was treating Michi's injuries.

Miroku was carrying the sleeping Tanaya back to her mother. He could smell the herbs and burnt incense and could see Michi already unconscious on the ground, with fresh bandages on her feet. He knelt by the sleeping woman and placed Tanaya next to her. Instinctively, Michi pulled Tanaya closer to her and Miroku covered both of them with a blanket.

He straightened up and looked at his mentor, "How bad were her legs?"

"They could've been worse, but traveling so hard certainly didn't help." Moushin shook his head disapprovingly. "Found a lot of stones in there; dirt too. You both know better; should have kept them cleaner."

Miroku folded his arms over his chest, "We didn't have a lot of options on the road."

"You should have taken them to Kyoto." Moushin walked out of the room, with Miroku following behind them. "A temple in the woods is no place for a woman and her child."

"You can argue this as much as you want to, but it doesn't change the fact that Michi hates Kyoto. She prefers the country."

"No one asks what I prefer."

"Try being sober once and while; we might take you more seriously." Miroku offered.

"That child's going to be trouble. She's just like you." Moushin grumbled as he moved out onto the porch overlooking the waterfall.

"So I hear." Miroku sighed. "Look, if you could put up with me than you can withstand Tanaya. Besides, Michi will keep Tanaya in line. She shouldn't give you too many headaches."

Moushin snorted, "I need a drink."

"You need another drink like I need this hole in my hand.** (AN: Thanks to Tyric Stinnet, my brother, for this line!)**" Miroku rubbed his right wrist and looked out over the water. "What's that?" The clouds obscured the moon and stars and he couldn't make out the shape near the water due to the lack of light.

Moushin choose to ignore the joke at his expense. "That's Sango. She offered to go get water for me."

Miroku whacked the old man over the head. "Don't you have any shame? Asking a woman to fetch you water in the middle of the night?!? It's ludicrous, even though Sango can take care of herself..."

" Don't lecture your teacher." Moushin used Miroku's own staff against him, thumping the younger man on the head. "She asked if she could help with anything. You should have asked before she did. Honestly, you'd think I didn't teach you any proper..." Moushin trailed off realizing that Miroku had lowered himself from the porch and was walking towards Sango. "What you think you're doing?"

"I'm fetching your water. Go get another drink." Miroku answered without looking behind him.

Moushin shook his head and walked back into the temple.

* * *

Sango hefted the last bucket of water onto the bank and wiped the sweat from her brow. It was so dark out tonight that it made gathering water an actual challenge.

" Sango are you alright?" Miroku called out to her as he moved down the hill.

"Yes, Houshi-sama, I am fine." She squinted trying to see him better. " Be careful, you're close to the bank."

"I know. I've already been down in the water today. You shouldn't have done this."

"I didn't mind. Besides, Moushin probably isn't used to gathering water for more than one person, Tanaya's probably never done it and Michi's injured. I'm glad to help." Sango started up the bank, but slipped on the rocks. She flailed her arms as she tried to regain her balance, but started to fall backwards despite her efforts.

Miroku caught her hands and jerked her towards him as she pitched forward. She slammed into his chest and they both crashed on the ground.

Sango struggled to get up, uncomfortable being on top of the monk, especially in her demon exterminator uniform; it's snug fit was too tempting for his wandering hands. Miroku still had a hold of her hands; she couldn't push herself up off of him. "Houshi-sama, my hands, please." She finally managed to request.

"Of course, I'm sorry." Miroku released his grip on her hands and let Sango stand to her feet.

She looked down at the monk and extended her hand to him. "I'm sorry, I got you all wet again."

Miroku let her help him stand, than he looked down at his robes, "That's alright. Here, I'll help you carry this water back." He noticed that there were four buckets of water. "May I ask; how were you going to carry four buckets of water?"

"Make two trips." Sango smiled and lifted the two buckets closest to her. Miroku lifted the other to buckets and they started up the hill. " Why did you come down to the water?"

"To help you." He answered simply, before adding. "I felt guilty about you fetching water, when I should be doing it."

" Liar." Sango accused.

Miroku chuckled, "All right, I was hoping to be tackled by you and I got my wish. Thank you very much."

Sango blushed despite herself. "You are awful."

"Yes, I know." Miroku set the water buckets down near the porch of the temple. "We can leave these here." He paced over to the temple steps and sat down heavily. He looked at Sango; the light from the temple cast an eerie glow on her features. He patted the step he was sitting on, "Come sit down for a moment?"

Sango realized what a bad idea this probably was, since he hadn't groped her in days and this was a perfect opportunity.

"No ill intentions on my part I promise." He smiled encouragingly.

Sango, now slightly less wary, sat down next to Miroku. She turned her head to look at him and noted his more serious expression. "Is something wrong, Houshi-sama?"

He nodded but didn't speak. He looked up at the moon as it shinned through a hole in the clouds. He clenched and unclenched his right hand and continued to look away from her.

Sango reached towards him and pulled his right hand into both of hers. She rested the palm of it against the palm of her left hands and laid her right hand over his fingers. "It's alright. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

Miroku's eyes were wide, his expression clearly showing his shock at Sango's actions. Her hands were much smaller than his, but he could feel the calluses on her fingers and the strength. He smiled softly, enjoying the tender contact. He cleared his throat and gained her attention.

" Sango, I do need to speak to you."

Her eyes reflected the light from the temple as she stared directly into his eyes. "I'm listening."

" While I was dreaming, I saw you. You warned me to stay away from the river." He drew his hand away from hers and clasped his own together.

"I remember that, I was having the same dream." Sango scuffed her foot on the step. "Michi told me that what I was seeing was the Bardo."

"I think she was right. Sango, how did you see that world? Tell me whatever you can remember."

" There isn't much to remember. It was dead and what wasn't dead was dying. It was so dark; I think any light that was there was coming from the other side of the river. It felt so threatening there. I was frightened, and all I wanted to do was escape." Sango pulled her arms around her chest, shuddering at the memory. "What did you see there that gave you so much comfort?"

Miroku furrowed his eyebrows. "Sango, to me that world was comfort. It was like a resting place. There was nothing but light." He paused before continuing quietly. "Do you know why people cross the river?"

" Michi told us that it was because people don't see any light there." Sango shook her head. "Houshi-sama, don't worry for me. I will not die soon. I must defeat Naraku, before I can even dream of rest."

Miroku had turned away from her. His eyes were now focused on the sky again. He wore a very pensive expression and seemed that he was no longer involved in their conversation.

Sango sighed softly and stood to her feet. "Goodnight, Houshi-sama." She had reached the top step, when his normally calm voice called out almost desperately to her.

" Don't live for him." He hadn't turned his face away from the sky, though he'd stood to his feet.

" What?" Sango questioned.

Miroku turned and ascended the steps so quickly that Sango jumped. "Don't live for Naraku, Sango. Don't let him be the reason for your life."

"How can _you_ say that?" Disgust and anger flashed in Sango's eyes.

"I seek Naraku for the life I will attain after he is defeated. He is only a step-stone in my path." Miroku rested his hands on Sango's shoulders. "But, I fear, Sango that defeating him is the last thing you plan to do in this life."

Sango dropped her head, trying to avoid looking at Miroku. She clamped her eyes closed and locked her jaw trying to keep any emotion from slipping out.

"Look at me." He coaxed, but she remained focused on the ground. " Please, Sango, look at me."

She finally lifted her face to look him in the eye and tears began coursing down her face immediately. "Why would it concern you?" She managed through her tight throat.

"You are my friend. I want you to live and to be happy."

"I can take care of myself." Sango roughly wiped the tears from her left cheek and would have down the same to the other, but Miroku stopped her.

He brushed the back of his right hand over her right cheek, but maintained the distance between them. "Don't give up on me, Sango."

She choked down another sob and tried to pull away from him, but his left hand held fast on her shoulder.

He moved closer to her, and wiped the last remnant of her tears away with his thumb. "Don't give up."

They stood there still as Sango regained her composure and Miroku decided what action to take. The sound of their breathing was drowned out by a gust of wind. A lock of Miroku's hair came out of the tie and lay across his forehead.

Tentatively, Sango reached up and tucked the wayward lock back into place. He smiled at the gesture and she smiled back. She moved his hand away from her face, than leaned closer to him wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug.

Miroku enclosed her in his arms, pulling her as close as he could. He could feel her bury her face into his robes, but she wasn't crying. He felt her lift her head up, but her grip on him didn't waver.

Her maroon/brown eyes met his, as her cheeks turned bright pink. "I'm sorry, Houshi-sama. I just..."

"Shh. I don't mind at all. Why would I?" He gave a perverted smirk, hoping to make her smile or at least roll her eyes. When she kept her eyes locked with his, he could feel the familiar attraction between their bodies. He leaned his forehead against hers trying to think about anything but those lips of hers.

She tried to lift her head to kiss him, but he moved away ever so slightly.

He couldn't take advantage of her in this state; she was still upset. It would be best to embarrass her, get clobbered and try another day. "I told you, if you wanted me to kiss you then you'd have to ask." He closed his eyes awaiting the coming blow.

She swallowed and let out a puff air before licking her lips. She swallowed again, finding it slightly hard to breath with him that close. "Miroku," She whispered as his eyes flew open in shock at the use of his name and the sound of her voice. She managed to push the words out of her currently uncooperative mouth. "I want you to kiss me."

Miroku was looking into those open, trusting eyes of hers. He moved his left arm, disentangling it from her body and being careful not to do anything that she might take offence to. He cradled the side of her face with his left hand and lowered his face to hers. He stopped just above her lips and told her, "You have to promise me you won't give up."

" Give me a reason not to."

He pressed his lips to hers. It wasn't a passionate, fiery kiss; it was soft and chaste, a promise of love and hope for the future. He pulled away from her lips and kissed her forehead. "We need to get our rest. We're going to start traveling again tomorrow."

Sango nodded and walked towards the door. "Aren't you coming?"

"Not just yet, I need to think. Goodnight, Sango. Pleasant dreams." He bid her turning around to face the forest.

" Goodnight, Miroku." Her footsteps were undetectable as she entered the temple.

He drew in a deep breath of the forest air, trying to memorize the moment that had just occurred.


	19. pt18

**Authoress' Notes: The End... well kinda but YAY you made it!

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**Family Ties: Part 18

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**

Everyone was getting ready to travel. The sun had risen hours ago and Inuyasha had already been 'sat' three times due to his impatient attitude. Miroku had groped Sango and got an over-zealous beating for it, making the others wonder if something had happened between them. Shippou kept running off and hiding, so they wouldn't leave, but Inuyasha kept dragging him back. Kagome had given Michi some things from her backpack. Tanaya had been pouting all morning and there wasn't anything any of them could do about it. Finally the group was ready to leave.

Michi handed a package to each of the girls, "I want you to have these. As my thanks for everything you've done for me."

Kagome open the corner of the package and recognized the fabric instantly. " This is the kimono that you let me use the other night. I can't accept this."

Sango nodded and tried to hand her package back along with Kagome.

" Nonsense, I fixed them up so you could take them. I'll be insulted if you don't accept them." Michi informed the girls, before looking back at her sniffling daughter. "Tanaya, you need to come say goodbye to everyone."

Tanaya dragged her feet as she walked up to the group. She hugged both of the girls and bid them goodbye. She tugged on Inuyasha's pant-leg to get his attention.

He leaned down, "What?"

Tanaya held up a piece of paper, for him to inspect.

Inuyasha wasn't sure how to respond; he sure as hell couldn't read it.

" Tanaya, your writing is still hard to read. Tell Inuyasha what it says." Michi encouraged.

Tanaya pointed out the words as she spoke. "It says: Thank you for carrying me. Travel well, Lord Inuyasha."

Inuyasha took the paper from her and folded it up, before tucking it in one of his pockets. He ruffled her hair and gave her a half-smile. "No problem. Stay out of trouble."

Tanaya inched over to Shippou and kissed his cheek. "I'm gonna miss you. You're a lot of fun to play with. Travel well."

"I'll come back I promise." Shippou told her.

Tanaya finally walked to Miroku. "Am I not going to see you for two whole years again?"

Miroku pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "No, I promise I'll be back before then. I'll come visit in the spring. You have my word, little Angel."

"I love you, Miko. Good travel."

"I love you too, Tanaya. Be good for your mother and Moushin." Miroku set her on the ground and squeezed her hands. "I bet I can convince Hachi to come see you sometime."

" Okay." Tanaya sniffled again and ran back to the temple so they couldn't see her crying.

" She'll be fine." Michi assured Miroku, after she noted his worried expression. She hugged Kagome, "You take care of yourself. Do you have enough medicine for your wounds?"

" Thank you, and yeah, I'll be fine, don't worry. Feel better." Kagome smiled.

" Thank you. Travel well."

Michi hugged Sango and teasingly pleaded. "Keep that cousin of mine out of trouble."

" Impossible." Sango chuckled as the woman pulled away.

"Too true. You take good care of yourself. It was very nice to meet you."

"And you as well."

Michi leaned down to Shippou and hugged him. "Thank you for all your help little one."

Shippou pulled away and smiled. "I didn't mind. I had a lot of fun."

"I'm glad." Michi brushed the dirt off her skirt and walked up to Inuyasha. She took a hold of his hands and cleared her throat. " Thank you for protecting my child and for saving me."

Inuyasha surprised everyone by pulling Michi into a hug. They all stood slack-jawed at the sight of Inuyasha voluntarily hugging someone other then Kikyou or Kagome.

Michi was shocked to say the least, then suddenly it all made sense as she heard him whispered.

"I can't promise he won't die, but if he lives long enough...I will kill Naraku and free him from the curse." Inuyasha's voice was so quiet that Michi was the only one who could have heard it.

" Thank you." She whispered back and let go of him.

Inuyasha grunted an affirmation and jerked his thumb towards the path. " Come on lets get going. Miroku, catch up to us after you say your goodbyes. This mushy crap's makin' me sick."

Kagome sighed and sat down on Kirara. "Bye Michi. Bye Tanaya." She waved to the little girl and followed behind Inuyasha.

"Bye Tanaya!! Bye Michi." Shippou waved from Sango's shoulder.

Sango waved as well. "Goodbye."

Miroku watched the group walk up the path. "That's the path that leads to the nearest village, if you follow it straight. It takes a day and half to there by-path; a day if you travel through the woods, but I wouldn't suggest it, its dangerous. At the fork in the path if you take the road to the East and then to the North you'll get to Kyoto but it's more than a three-day journey. So be careful it's a dangerous path. Around here it's usually not too dangerous, but be aware..."

" Miroku," Michi placed her hand on his shoulder. "I know. I used to live here. Just be careful traveling. Do you have enough herbs for healing? And of course you know what's safe to eat and what's not. And..."

" Michi," Miroku smiled in spite of himself. "I know. I've been traveling for some time." He chuckled. "We were never good at farewells were we?"

"No." Michi drew in an unsteady breath. "Sango's very sweet. Take care of her, she's special."

"I know. It almost makes me ashamed for all the things I'd love to do to her."

" Eck!" Michi swatted him on the back of the head. " You're terrible. You're going to leave me after saying that?!?"

Miroku smiled and kissed her cheek. "Yeah, this way you won't cry."

Michi hugged him trying to hold back her tears. "Now I am." She squeezed him tighter for a moment. "Take care of yourself, Love."

Miroku pulled away and looked her in the eye. "I'll be back in the spring, unless the wind-tunnel is damaged, then I'll be back sooner."

"Then I don't want to see you until spring." Michi shoved him gently. " Get going, or you'll never catch them."

" Goodbye Michi. I love you."

"I love you too, Miroku. Goodbye; travel well. You'll be in my prayers." Michi turned her back and started walking towards the temple. "Never look back, Love; move always to the future."

Miroku walked up the path a little ways and found Sango waiting for him at the first curve. "Couldn't resist getting me alone?" He raised his eyebrows.

"More worried about you being alone; you always get into trouble." Sango grabbed his hand started walking.

" You're holding my hand."

"I know. This way I know where it is." Sango announced triumphantly before her ringing shout of anger sounded through the forest. " Houshi-sama remove your other hand _before I do_!"

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**The End**


	20. Epilouge

**Authoress' Notes: Ah, the Epilogue...**

If you want a real treat... read my review from:** Jaid Skywalker.... **Outtakes... She wrote outtakes from the final chapter... go read them you seriously won't be disappointed.

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**Family Ties: Epilogue

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**

" Houshi-sama, slow down; we'll be there shortly." Sango complained in response to the reckless pace she and the monk had been traveling at since dawn.

Miroku sighed softly and chuckled softly. "I'm sorry, Sango. I'm just anxious to see if all three of them are still alive after the long winter."

"I'm sure they're all fine." Sango gave a reassuring smile. "You received a letter from Michi less-then a week ago."

"A week is a frightfully long time when it comes to Michi and Moushin."

"They don't get a long?" Sango questioned.

Miroku rubbed his forehead. "They get along...sometimes. Only when they aren't getting along things tends to become dangerous."

"I'm sure Michi would have..." Sango trailed off and pointed north. " There's the peak of the temple."

" That's comforting. At least, we know they haven't brunt it down."

"They fight that badly?"

"It's not that they don't like each other. It's just that they are both very stubborn and set in their ways." Miroku sighed again, before settling into stride with Sango. He had planned to visit Michi, Tanaya, and Moushin on his own, but Sango had insisted on coming with him She told him that she'd only worry about him getting into trouble if he went on his own.

A small voice broke through Miroku's thoughts.

"But if I jump to my other foot, I'll fall!" Tanaya cried out.

"This is an exercise in balance; you won't fall." Moushin argued.

A resounding crash echoed through forest, before a loud cry sounded from Tanaya. "Ow! I told you I'd fall!"

The little girl might have continued complaining and rubbing her head, but she caught sight of something that made her forget the painful lesson. "MIKO!! MIKO!!" She raced across the yard and into Miroku's arms.

" Hello little Angel. How are you?" Miroku asked as he hugged her tightly.

"My head hurts from falling down." She stuck on her bottom lip and looked sad.

Miroku kissed her head and adjusted his grip on her. "How's that?"

" Better. Miko, I missed you so much! It was so boring here after the snow."

"I'm sorry you were bored. How are your lessons?" He set her on the ground and smoothed back her hair.

" She's too stubborn to learn, just like her mother." Moushin grumbled.

" Sango! I'm happy to see you too!" Tanaya rushed over to greet Sango. "Where's Shippou? Oh hello, Kirara." She petted the fire-cat happily.

Sango set down the bag she'd been carrying on her back. "He had to stay with Kagome and Inuyasha, but wanted me to wish you well and I think he put something sweet in the bag for you."

" Really?!?" Tanaya excited began looking though the bag of treasures.

Miroku shook his head at Tanaya, before regarded Moushin. "Where is Michi? I figured she'd come as soon she heard Tanaya yelling."

Moushin snorted, "She's talking toToshihiro."

"And who may I ask is, Toshihiro?" Miroku's eyebrow shot up curious.

"Some hunter, that is more interested in hunting Michi, than anything living in these woods." Moushin huffed. "To think _I _save his life and when he _finally_ returns to repay me all he wants to do is impress Michi."

"I see." Miroku started walking around the temple. "I'll be right back."

* * *

Miroku stopped short at the side of the temple and peered around the corner. He could see Michi talking to, whom he would assume was, Toshihiro. Her fingers were absently-mindedly playing with the scarf draped over her shoulders as she spoke to the man.

Apparently, Toshihiro was getting ready to leave, since he was standing near a horse. It wasn't entirely out of place for a hunter to have a horse and there was a bow on the saddle, but that horse was very well breed and the man had armor. This man was no ordinary hunter.

Miroku couldn't hear the conversation clearly; he could only pick out a word here and there. Toshihiro's voice was deep but calm and he seemed to be very respectful of the woman standing in front of him. Michi's voice was so quiet and soft that it seemed like she was being shy.

It looked as if she was motioning for him to leave. Toshihiro leaned close to Michi and wrapped the scarf over her head, before kissing her gently.

Miroku's eyebrows arched high at the sight he was seeing and nearly snorted at the clearly heard term of 'Princess.'

Michi waved goodbye and watched until Toshihiro was over the hill. She folded her hands and sighed contentedly, before turning around and pumping her fist and exclaiming a quiet, "Yes!"

" Really?" Miroku questioned.

Michi jumped, but quickly spit out, "Oh Love, you weren't supposed to see that." She desperately tried to distract him from her unladylike celebration.

" Really? So I should of closed my eyes, _Princess_?" He teased.

"You are awful." Michi complained, lowering the scarf from her head and hugging him. "But I missed you, anyway. How are you?"

" Still breathing."

"I would hope so, else you're a very animated corpse." Michi smiled. "How are your friends?"

" Doing well. Now on that subject: who is this, Toshihiro? No common hunter has armor or a horse like that." Miroku prodded.

Michi smiled softly, "Toshihiro, is a hunter, but he used to be samurai. He wants to live the rest of his life without shedding human blood."

"His Lord just allowed him to leave his service?" Miroku looked doubtful.

" Toshihiro nearly died saving the Lord and the Lord promised Toshihiro anything he wanted. Toshihiro chose freedom. He's good with a bow, so a hunter is a good profession for him. He lives in the village. Moushin saved his life a year ago..."

"I heard. What does he want with you?"

Michi rubbed her hand over her heart. "Ouch. That was cruel. I think he wants to marry me."

" He'll have to get by me first. And I didn't mean anything by that comment I was only trying to figure out his intentions."

"I know you didn't. You know, Tanaya's very fond of him."

Miroku stretched lazily. "And Moushin?"

"He's still not talking to me." She stated matter-of-factly.

" Why?"

"I don't know, I think it may have something to do with the sake bottles I broke."

Miroku rolled his eyes and offered her his arm. "Come on, Sango's here and she brought a lot of nice things from Kagome."

Michi put her arm on Miroku, but didn't move. She brought her right hand to his and squeezed the back of it. Her eyes were bright as she smiled and brought her right hand to his face. "I'm having visions again. I saw a little boy that looked like you. I think he was yours, but I can't be sure."

"The future is uncertain." Miroku tapped her nose and the two started walking again. "Although, maybe if you tweaked that vision a bit I could convince Sango..."

Michi whapped Miroku in the back of the head, "You're awful. I tell you I can see visions again and you want to use me to con your way into her bed!"

Miroku made a shuddering sound and complained, "You make it sound so dirty."

" Because it is."

"And your intentions for Toshihiro are innocent?" Miroku smirked.

"We aren't talking about me." Michi snickered. "I should show Sango my favorite poem."

"No." Miroku argued. "Don't and pretend you did."

"But it sounds so much like you." Michi laughed.

" Michi..."

* * *

**Now that truly is the end... but I promised someone that I would put in the poem that Michi and Miroku were talking about:**

"This inn  
on the road to Iwanoune  
is a cold place to sleep...  
Oh monk,  
Would you please lend me your robes?

_The monk's reply:  
_Those who have given up the world  
wear only a single layer  
of moss-rough cloth,  
yet not to offer it would be heartless.  
Let us sleep together, than."

- Ono No Komachi from Jane Hirshfield's translations in **The Ink Dark Moon**

And the poem, by the way, was written in the 1st century... And the book is really awesome I've read it many times.


End file.
